South Korea’s “John Ram” Chung Chan-min, 24, will look to avenge last year’s missed cut at the KB Financial Reeve Championship ($700 million in prize money).

Chung will compete in the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Tour’s KB Financial Reebok Championship ($700 million in prize money) at Blackstone Golf Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, starting Sept. 25.

After missing the cut at this tournament last year with rounds of 74 in the first round and 82 in the second, Chung is determined to bounce back this year and earn his second win of the season.

Chung, who is participating in this tournament for the second time, is back in a completely different position than last year. Whereas last year he was just a rookie and an up-and-comer, this year he has the Genesis Grand Prize points and the top spot in the prize pool. The interest in him is huge.

The key to restoring his pride will be 안전놀이터 how he utilizes his trademark long hit. Blackstone Golf Club, the venue of the KB Financial Reeve Championship, is notoriously difficult. The fairways are narrow and the greens are sloping, not allowing for much under par.

With the exception of the 2020 event, which was first played in 2018 and canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cut has been over par in all four previous editions. After 4-over par in 2018, 3-over par in 2019, and 5-over par in 2021, last year’s cut soared to 8-over par.

However, this year’s cut could be the lowest ever. The rough, which has always been a problem for players, is not as long as it was at Jenkyne and the fairways are in poor condition, so a Preferred Rye is being used on the fourth hole. This is good news for the long-hitting Chan Min Chung.

Chung is a long hitter and has a pure iron game. His average drive distance of 325.06 yards ranks second overall, but he can hit it well over 350 yards when he’s on his game, making him a “400-yard hitter”.

His fairway percentage is below 40% due to his lack of refinement, but his green percentage is 77.8%. With his long, precise iron shots, Chung ranks second on the tour in birdies per round (4.24) and 20th in scoring average (71.4706) this season.

“I missed the cut last year, so my goal is to make the cut this time around,” said Chung. “There are a lot of places on this course where you have to play defensively rather than aggressively. If you play too aggressively, you can lose a lot of shots. The second shot is the most important,” he said, adding that he was as concerned about hitting the greens as he was about hitting long shots.

After earning his first career victory at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open earlier this month, Chung’s momentum stalled when he missed the cut at the SK Telecom Open last week. Depending on the outcome of this tournament, he could lose the Genesis Points and the top spot on the money list. That’s why he needs two wins.

The winner of this tournament will take home 140 million won and 1,000 Genesis Points.