The “future” of Korean men’s golf, Ahn Sung-hyun (14, Bibongjoong, Hwaseong), beat out a stellar field of seniors to become the inaugural Club D Amateur Eco Championship men’s champion.
Ahn, the youngest member of the Korean national team, shot a 2-under-par 70 in the men’s fourth round on the final day of play at Club D Geumgang (par-72) in Iksan, Jeollabuk-do, on Monday to finish with a 16-under-par 272 total and a one-stroke victory over Park Jae-min (Daejeon Bangtongo-273), who carded a daily best of 66.
It was his first win in a stroke play event organized by the Korea Golf Association, eight months after he won the Young Guns Match Play in October last year.
After starting the tournament in a tie for second place, one stroke behind the leader, Ahn shot a 5-under 67 on the first day, he followed it up with a 5-under on the second day to take the lead. He then dropped four strokes in the third round to start the final four rounds in first place, three strokes ahead of second-place Moon Dong-hyun (Bangtongo, Jemulpogo, Incheon).
After back-to-back par saves on the first and second holes (both par-4s), Ahn got back to within one with a birdie on the third (par-5) before making a costly double bogey on the fourth (par-3). However, he stabilized with consecutive pars on Nos. 5-8 (all par-4s) and closed with a one-stroke victory on No. 9 (par-5).
Back-to-back birdies on the 10th (par-5) and 11th and 12th (both par-4s) cut the deficit to three, but Ahn slipped back with a bogey on the 13th (par-4) before saving par on the 14th, but bogeyed the 15th again to allow his rivals to catch up. 스포츠토토
Facing an upset, Ahn birdied the 17th (par-3) and closed with a par on the final 18th (par-5) to secure a thrilling one-stroke victory.
Speaking to Gyeonggi Ilbo after his victory, Ahn said, “It feels great to win the title in a new tournament. I struggled a little bit because my shots were the most difficult in this tournament, but I was able to win because I tried not to lose my concentration at the end. I will continue to refine my shots so that I can continue to perform well in the future.”