Kim Hong-taek wins KPGA's GS Caltex Maekyung Open after playoff

The Maekyung Open, which started in 1982, is considered a major-level tournament on the KPGA Tour in which Korean and non-Korean golfers compete. Kim won the title, his second ever, after beating Thailand's Chonlatit Chuenboonngam in a playoff.

Kim Hong-taek [YONHAP]

Kim Hong-taek won the GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship at Namseoul Country Club in Seongnam, Gyeonggi on Sunday after beating Chonlatit Chuenboonngam of Thailand in a playoff.

After the two finished the final round tied at 10-under-par, 274, the win came down to a playoff on a par-4 18th hole. The Namseoul Country Club is a par-71 course.

Kim made a par while Chuenboonngam ended on a bogey, handing Kim his second title on the KPGA Tour after his first at the Dong-A Membership Group Dynamic Busan Open in 2017.

Kim ended moving day tied for third, but he carded a two-under-par, 69, in the last round with six birdies to nab the frontrunner spot, despite making two bogeys and one double bogey.

With Sunday’s victory, Kim took the winner prize money of 300 million won ($220,700), a five-year KPGA Tour card and a two-year Asian Tour card.

Had Chuenboonngam won the tournament, he would have been the first foreign golfer to win the title since Mark Calcavecchia of the United States in 2004.

The Maekyung Open, which started in 1982, is considered a major-level tournament at which Korean and foreign golfers compete.

Lee Jung-hwan, who has managed three top-three finishes this season, tied for fourth with a seven-under-par, 277.

Defending champion Jung Chan-min, meanwhile, failed to make the cut this year. Another former champion Kim Bio, winner in 2012 and 2022, also failed to make the cut.

Those who secured titles on the Tour this season were also in the field, including KPGA Founders Cup champion Ko Gun-taek, but he tied for 16th with a two-under-par, 282.

The KPGA will continue with the KPGA Classic teeing off at Golf Zon Country in South Jeolla on Thursday next week.

Four events on the Tour have finished, with no golfer winning more than one title so far in the 2024 season.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]