Baek Seok-hyeon (33, Hussem), who was happy to show his wife that ‘I am this kind of person’, roared at the end.
Starting with a ‘no-look putt’, he overcame the pressure of the trembling lead fight and rose to the top of the leaderboard. An emotional first win in his 57th appearance on the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour. He also won it with ‘Wire to Wire’ (maintained 1st place from the 1st round to the final day) and blew away the unknown sorrow in one shot.
In the final round of the SK Telecom Open held at the Pinx Golf Club (par 71, 7326 yards) in Seogwipo, Jeju on the 21st, Baek Seok-hyun reduced 4 strokes by changing 1 eagle, 3 birdies and 1 bogey. With a final total of 13 under par and 271 strokes, he beat Lee Tae-hoon (33, DB Insurance) in second place by one stroke.
Baek Seok-hyun, who calmly blocked the first three holes of the final round with pars, taking the lead by one shot, sent a tee shot on the fourth hole (par 5) 307 yards and then a second shot with 210 yards left on the green. An eagle putt in front of 13 yards was sucked into the hole cup, creating momentum for the championship, and then catching a birdie in the 5th hole (par 3) to build momentum. At one time, he allowed Choi Ho-seong (50, Geumgang House) to lead the joint lead, but showed his tenacity to win by grabbing two birdies in the first three holes of the second half.
In the 18th hole (par 4), which took the lead by two strokes, the tee shot was pushed to the right and fell into the penalty area. The third shot after the drop was also pushed to the right and entered the bunker on the right side of the green. Lee Tae-hoon, who was chasing after, put the ball on the green after the second shot and left about 8 yards. A crisis where a successful birdie putt could go into overtime. Seok-hyun Baek landed a bunker shot within 1m with about 12 yards left, and clenched his fists. Lee Tae-hoon’s birdie putt stopped on the right side of the hole.
Baek Seok-hyun, who read the green with a cautious expression, could not hide the extreme burden, such as solving the address once. Still, after calmly making the champion putt, he raised his arms and roared. When his teammates showered him with water and congratulated him, he burst into tears and enjoyed the thrill of his first victory.
Baek Seok-hyun, who expressed joy with his whole body, said, “I am so happy that I cannot express it in words. I want to get a trophy and rest quickly,” he said with a relieved expression. He is a newlywed who got married in December of last year, and he presented the championship to his wife in about 5 months.
He said, “I tried to guide the tee as much as possible because the grades were not good, but it seems that the expression could not be good. So her wife noticed me very much. She was the one who trusted and married her, and I was so sorry that I made her notice. She seems to be crying after watching the victory scene. Since she won, I want to say that there is no need to worry about her and that I love her.”
The driving force behind the victory is, of course, the ‘no-look putt’. It is a unique skill (?) to putt without looking at the ball, and Baek Seok-hyun brought out the ‘no-look putt’ as a weapon in this tournament. He said, “I use a broom stick (a long putter up to 49 inches), but they say it is a putter that does not meet R&A regulations. He brought out a Scotty Cameron sample putter and tried a no-look putt, which led to good results.” In the next tournament, I plan to putt normally with a broomstick that meets the rules.메이저놀이터
“During the champion putt, I was scolded because my hands were shaking so much. He approached with the mindset of playing hole by hole, and after realizing that he was leading by two strokes on the 16th hole, he felt a sense of pressure. Baek Seok-hyun, who said that the 18th hole tee shot mistake was the worst and the bunker shot was the best shot,” said, “My hair turned white the moment the victory was confirmed. I didn’t even feel it. As much as he won his first championship, he will become a player who does not stop at one win. I am so happy to be able to let the fans know my name,” he said with a bright smile. zzang@sportsseoul.com