SEOUL, April 29, 2010 - Korea’s Bae Sang-moon has set his sights on successfully defending the 29th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship title when the tournament debuts on OneAsia next week. The third leg of OneAsia will see Bae and the cream of Asian golf tee off at the challenging and "mountainous" Namseoul Country Club from May 6-9.
Kim Dae-sub, second behind Bae on the 2009 Korean Tour Order of Merit will also aim to improve on his joint-third finish in last year’s event. Kim has proven a strong match for Bae on several occasions, including OneAsia's inaugural Korean event at the Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open in 2009, where Bae eventually triumphed with a one-stroke victory.
Bae, considered to be one of the most exciting prospects in Asian golf, beat countryman Ted Oh in a playoff at Namseoul last year. Oh, 33, is also set to return to the tradition-laced GS Caltex Maekyung Open to challenge his compatriot to a rematch.
The tournament will also see the return of 23-year-old Kim Kyung-tae who claimed the title in 2007. Kim is the third highest-ranked Korean in the world behind PGA Championship winner Y.E. Yang and fellow US PGA Tour star K.J. Choi, and will be a strong contender for the KRW1,000,000,000 prize money, which has doubled in size from last year.
This increase in prize money and provision of a full Asia-Pacific field this year is in line with OneAsia’s mission to provide more lucrative playing opportunities for the region’s leading golfers.
The GS Caltex Maekyung Open has been played at Namseoul Country Club on nine of the last 11 occasions and Bae feels at home on the rolling fairways. The victory tasted even sweeter when he won the final play-off which took him by surprise.
“It was great to win last year because it was my first time in a playoff,” he said. “The last hole is a very tough hole at Namseoul - It has difficult greens, narrow fairways and many out of bounds. But I played it well and drove straight down the middle. It was a great feeling to win, " said Bae, who has topped the Korean Tour Order of Merit for the last two years.
He added, “I love playing in big events like the Maekyung Open where there are massive galleries and good crowds. I always want to win the big titles in Korea and I feel like I'm playing well at the moment, so I think I will be in contention.
"I'm really looking forward to defending my title."
Like the Masters, the winner of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open is rewarded with a Green Jacket and last year Bae became the fifth Korean to slip it over his shoulders since American Mark Calcavecchia triumphed in 2004.
Hwang Inn-choon beat teen sensation Noh Seung-yul in a playoff in 2008 and a year earlier Kim Kyung-tae, the gold medallist at the 2006 Asian Games, showed his potential with a five-stroke victory over Chinese number one Liang Wenchong.
The GS Caltex Maekyung also includes a stellar list of Korean players already excelling OneAsia this year.
Winner of the Korean Tour's Tomato Savings Bank Open, Kim Do-hoon, shared third spot with his compatriot Kang Kyung-nam - a five time winner on the Korean Tour - in OneAsia's season opener, the Luxehills Chengdu Open. Kim followed up to become the halfway leader of the Volvo China Open, finally finishing in the Top 10. He is currently number 8 on the OneAsia Order of Merit.
OneAsia has witnessed several stirring performances from Korean players this season with Kim Hyung-tae forcing a playoff with eventual winner Liang at the season-opening Luxehills Chengdu Open and Y.E. Yang, Asia’s first Major champion, coming out on top at the star-studded Volvo China Open.
In 2010, OneAsia will stage 11 tournaments for a total of more than US$13 million in prize money, ultimately seeking to provide players in Asia with an alternative pathway to the PGA Tour and the European Tour.
About OneAsia
OneAsia is a non-profit organisation developed to maximize elite tournament opportunities in Asia-Pacific. The Founding members of OneAsia are the China Golf Association, the Korea Golf Tour, the Korea Golf Association and the PGA of Australia. The mission of OneAsia is not just to allow the region's best players to gain access to more events, but to ultimately provide them with an alternative pathway to the PGA Tour and the European Tour, thus retaining the best golfing talent in the region without compromising their development.
For more information, please contact:
Janice Lee Fang,
PR & Media Manager - OneAsia
DID: +65 6236 0362
Mobile: +65 8268 8155
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