Top Korean tour player ready to attack course at PGA event

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOGWIPO, South Korea, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- If there's one thing that South Korean golfer Park Sang-hyun has learned from watching PGA Tour pros, it's to be aggressive on the course, no matter how difficult settings may be.

And Park, the top Korea PGA (KPGA) Tour player this year, will have a chance to apply his lessons at a PGA event at home this week.

Park will make his first appearance at the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, which opens Thursday at the Club at Nine Bridges in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. This is the second edition of the only PGA Tour event held in South Korea.

Park earned his spot as the leader in the KPGA Player of the Year points as of Oct. 8. The 35-year-old is having a banner year -- he picked up three victories and six top-10s overall in just eight starts while also leading the tour in money and scoring average.

Park is also second on the Asian Tour money list, which got him into last week's CIMB Classic in Malaysia, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the PGA Tour. Park tied for 50th there.

He'll be up against some of the world's best in men's golf for the second straight week. Last year, no KPGA players placed among the top 20, and Park said the key to changing that will be to attack the par-72, 7,184-yard course.

"PGA Tour players are clearly more talented than we are, but they also have different approaches to how they play," Park said at his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. "Those guys don't take a detour. Even when fairways are tight, they'll attack them off the tee. They play with confidence that they can scramble for par even if they end up in rough. If we can be aggressive and keep hitting them straight, we'll be better than last year."

Park was joined at the media session by other contenders for the top KPGA player honors. Lee Hyung-joon, who's second behind Park in the points, will be making his second straight CJ Cup appearance.

He finished in 60th place at 10-over 298 last year, but the 26-year-old said he only saw his CJ Cup debut as a learning opportunity. It will be different this time around.

"Last year, I didn't have any specific goal. I just wanted to gain experience playing against PGA Tour pros and learn from them, and so I wasn't disappointed with my finish," Lee said. "I will take a more strategic approach this year. I feel like I can make some noise, and my goal is to be inside the top 10."

Lee Tae-hee, Maeng Dong-seop and Mun Do-yeob -- ranked second, third and fifth in the points, respectively -- are all first-timers this week.

Lee said he was a bit star-struck seeing some PGA players he'd only watched on television, but it'll be business as usual once the tournament begins.

"I think all golfers should try to win every tournament they play, and I am no different," he said. "As important as the result is, I also want to learn from playing here."

Mun said it's always been a dream of his to play at a PGA Tour event, and just getting in a practice round on Tuesday was a lot of fun.

"The course is in great shape, and I am looking forward to this tournament," he said. "Korean tour players don't get to play in these settings all that much. So I'll try to enjoy my experience as much as I can."

Maeng said he felt a little overwhelmed by the prospect of playing with PGA stars, and he is hoping to keep things simple this week.

"I'll try to take this as just another tournament," he said. "If I don't force the issue too much, I should be okay. It's a good thing that there is no cut this week."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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