'Eight years of patience finally pay off': Kwon Seong-yeol surges to sole lead with 19-under-par 3rd round at KPGA season opener [Chuncheon on-site review]

*This content was translated by AI.

Kwon Seong-yeol (40) closed in on his second career victory in the KPGA Tour season opener with a scorching shot performance, reaching within one step of his first title in eight years.

On the 18th, at Chuncheon La Vie Belle Golf & Resort (par 72, 7,254 yards), Kwon carded a 65 (-7) in the third round of the 21st DB Insurance Promi Open (total prize money: 1 billion won), the season opener of the 2026 KPGA Tour, with no bogeys, one eagle, and five birdies.

With a cumulative total of 19-under-par 197, Kwon Seong-yeol maintained sole first place, leading second-place Lee Sang-yeop (32), who shot 17-under-par 199, by two strokes.

Debuting on the KPGA Tour in 2013, it took Kwon five years to secure his first victory. After enjoying the thrill of his first win at the SK Telecom Open in May 2018, he recorded one runner-up finish the following year, but made the top 10 only nine times.

Notably, last year he never finished in the top 10, made the cut only five times across 17 tournaments, and ultimately fell to 90th on the money list, narrowly securing his regular tour status through the Qualifying Tournament (QT).

At the age of 40, Kwon faced numerous injuries that hindered his performance, but ahead of this season, he has embraced the season opener with renewed energy thanks to meticulous physical management.

Starting the first round in a tie for 14th at 3-under-par, Kwon surged into sole lead the previous day by cutting nine strokes. Today, he raced ahead from the front nine.

He began with a birdie on the 2nd hole (par 4) by sinking a 5.6-meter putt, then reduced his score again on the 4th hole (par 3) before capturing an eagle on the 5th hole (par 5). A bold second shot aimed directly at the green cleared the bunker and landed near the hole at 1 meter, followed by a calm putt to extend his lead by two strokes.

On the 8th hole (par 4), he finished the front nine in high spirits with a perfect iron shot that stopped within 1 meter of the hole, reducing his score by another stroke. However, he faced trouble on the 11th hole (par 5) when his second shot headed toward the penalty area. After executing a flawless recovery shot, he sank the birdie putt to turn the crisis into an opportunity. Kwon then cut another stroke on the 13th hole (par 4), maintaining the lead with the most impressive performance among the top contenders.

Lee Sang-yeop, playing alongside Kwon, reduced his score by six strokes with no bogeys, leaving a chance for a late comeback victory. Debuting in 2015, Lee has not won since the 2016 Descente Korea Mensingware Match Play (Korean Tour) and has no stroke-play victories, making him eager to prepare for the final round.

Power hitter Jung Chan-min (27, CJ), who has two career KPGA wins, started in the lead group and chased Kwon aggressively but suffered a major slip in a single moment. After cutting five strokes in the front nine, his second shot on the 13th hole (par 4) veered into the rough, and after three wedge shots from the rough, he barely reached the green. He then took three putts to hole out, losing four strokes in one go.

He appeared to rebound with a birdie on the 14th hole (par 4), but committed three consecutive bogeys from the 15th (par 5) through the 17th (par 3) holes, shooting 1-over-par 73 and falling to a cumulative 8-over-par 208, plummeting 12 spots to a tie for 15th.

Wang Jeong-hoon (31, Daejin), who has primarily competed overseas with three European Tour wins, made his KPGA Tour debut this season as a rookie via the QT. He cut six strokes today to finish alone in third place at 14-under-par 202.

Ok Tae-hoon (28, Geumgang Housing), who won the season's top award and money list last year, shot 4-under-par to take sole fourth place with a cumulative 13-under-par 203.

Jang Yu-bin (24, Shinhan Financial Group), who returned after competing on LIV Golf, finished even par, dropping to a tie for 30th at 6-under-par 201, falling 18 spots. Defending champion Kim Baek-jun (25) shot 7-under-par 209 and fell nine spots to a tie for 21st alongside Kim Sung-hyun (28, Shinhan Financial Group), a PGA Tour veteran.

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*This content was translated by AI.