2007 GS Caltex Maekyung Open - Round 4: Rookie Kim show star potential with Maekyung victory

Asia heralded a new rising star when Korea's Kim Kyung-tae coasted to an emphatic five-stroke victory in the US$600,000 GS Caltex Maekyung Open on Sunday, just five months after turning professional.

The 20-year-old Kim trailed by one overnight but steamrolled past China's Liang Wen-chong with a stunning final round of five-under-par 67 at Nam Seoul Country Club to secure his maiden Asian Tour victory in only his second start in the region.

With a winning total of 18-under-par 270, Kim, a double gold medal winner in the Asian Games in Doha last December before he turned professional, earned a cheque of US$129,032. It was his second victory in successive weeks following his triumph in a domestic event last weekend.

Liang, who had led since the first day, failed to keep up pace on the back nine as he settled for second place with a closing 73. Korean amateur Danny Lee Jin-myung, who is only 16 and lives in New Zealand, grabbed third place on 279 after closing with a superb 65 while another amateur Kim Bi-o, veteran Choi Gwang-soo and Lee Seung-ho shared fourth place on 282.

A jubilant Kim, who moved up to 12th position on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit, said: "This is so unexpected. I am so happy. On front nine, I didn't play well. My game wasn't on but I put in a lot of effort on the back nine and putted more aggressively and it worked out nicely."

It was always a two-horse race between Kim and Liang who both turned in 35 for the Chinese star to preserve his overnight advantage at the turn. But the local favourite, spurred on by the Nam Seoul crowd, soon drew level with a birdie on 10.

The momentum then swung dramatically in Kim's favour at the next hole, the par three 11th, when he led the tournament for the first time by two shots with a birdie while Liang bogeyed. Kim pressed on with his advantage with further birdies on 15, 16 and 18 and a dropped shot on 17 was purely academical.

Kim immediately took up membership on the Asian Tour as his win comes with a priceless two-year exemption. "I'll play in several tournaments on the Asian Tour. I am keen to play in the big events like the HSBC Champions and Barclays Singapore Open," said Kim, who made the cut at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Phuket on a sponsor's invite.

"I'll try to keep learning from the top players in the big events. People said it would be harder in the pro ranks but I kind of kept my amateur mindset and kept playing aggressively which seems to have helped."

Liang, who is second on the UBS Order of Merit, was gracious in defeat and predicted a great future for Kim. "He is a really good player, I was really impressed with his performance. He putted great over the weekend," said the Chinese ace.

He added that his second bogey of the day on 13 put paid to his hopes of a second win for the season. "I lost the tournament on that hole. I was three behind by then and it was always going to be tough to catch him."

Leading final round scores (click here for full leaderboard)

270 - Kim Kyung-tae (KOR) 70-66-67-67
275 - Liang Wen-chong (CHN) 64-71-67-73
279 - Lee Jin-myung [A] (KOR) 70-73-71-65
282 - Kim Bi-o [A] (KOR) 72-69-75-66, Lee Seong-Ho (KOR) 72-71-71-68, Choi Gwang-soo (KOR) 70-76-67-69
284 - Yoo Jong-gu (KOR) 68-73-74-69, Mitchell Brown (AUS) 66-73-74-71, Kang Kyung-nam (KOR) 73-67-73-71, Richard Lee (NZL) 68-75-71-70, Anthony Kang (USA) 75-69-68-72
285 - Kim Chang-yoon (KOR) 76-70-71-68, Unho Park (AUS) 74-69-73-69, Choi Sang-ho (KOR) 71-73-72-69, Hong Soon-sang (KOR) 76-72-66-71
286 - Craig Smith (WAL) 73-69-76-68, David Oh (USA) 72-71-74-69, Jin Park (KOR) 76-71-70-69, Bae Sang-moon (KOR) 71-72-71-72, Choi Joon-woo (KOR) 71-73-70-72, Lee Won-joon (AUS) 76-67-66-77
287 - Mardan Mamat (SIN) 70-73-75-69, Shin Yong-jin (KOR) 70-69-74-74, Kim Jong-duk (KOR) 75-70-68-74

May 6, 2007

Bookmark page with:

Return to Top of Page