Yubin Jang staked his claim for a maiden win in the GS Caltex Maekyung Open today after taking a share of the halfway lead at Namseoul Country Club, following a two-under-par 69.
The golden boy of Korean golf, who played on the LIV Golf League last year, is six under in a congested leaderboard with just eight shots separating the leaders from those on the cut line.
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He leads along with compatriots Mingyu Cho, Sanghun Shin and Taehee Lee, the winner here in 2019 and 2020. Cho and Shin shot 70s while Lee a 71.
A large group of eight players are five under, including New Zealander Nick Voke (66), plus two-time Korea Open champion Minkyu Kim (67) and Seonghyeon Kim (69), a PGA Tour player, from Korea.
Jang played for Iron Heads GC on LIV Golf last season and while he was unable to keep his playing status on the franchise he has clearly returned an even stronger player.
“Having played on LIV Golf across a variety of courses and conditions, I found it relatively easy to adapt to the windy conditions today,” said the 23-year-old.
“That experience has been a great help. Even in situations where I might normally take a more aggressive club, I’m now trying to play more steadily. I do feel that I’ve grown as a player.”
A brilliant 2024 in Korea when he topped the Order of Merit and was the Player of the Year helped get an invite onto the LIV Golf League. He was also part of the Korea team that claimed the gold medal at the Asian Games the year before.
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He said: “Since my days on the national team, the tournaments I’ve most wanted to win are the GS Caltex Maekyung Open and the Kolon Korea Open. I was in contention in both 2023 and 2024, but it was disappointing not to win. Those missed opportunities have stayed with me, so I’ll do my best to play without any regrets.”
He tied for fourth in the 2024 GS Caltex Maekyung Open and was equal eight the year before when still an amateur.
The rising star is a three-time winner on the Korean Tour, his first success coming as an amateur in 2023 at the Gunsan Open, before twins in 2024.
Cho, Voke and Frenchman Julien Sale were paired in one the groups of the day. Sale joined Voke by shooting a 66 and is one shot back in a tie for 13th.
Cho came close to winning this tournament in 2022 when he finished second, two shots behind the winner Bio Kim, also from Korea. Cho was sharing the lead on the front nine before disaster struck. While playing his third shot at the ninth, he stepped foot on the hole’s second green, unaware that he should have taken a drop. It was an error for which he was docked two shots – a cruel and decisive blow to his chances.
While he watched his playing partners shoot 66 today, he was able to enjoy having shot the same score yesterday.
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Voke made six birdies and dropped just one shot to put himself into one his best positions heading into the weekend on the Asian Tour
“We were feeding off each other,” said Voke. “You know, when the cameras came around, we’re like, oh, it’s our time to shine now, boys. You know, Julian played sensational, Mingyu played really well yesterday. Yeah, just feeding off each other, a lot of fist pumps, lot of good putts, good shots. It was cool.
“Very pleased with the round. You know, challenging golf course, but challenging conditions as well. This wind is tricky, it’s strong, it’s coming from all sorts of directions. So, one of the better ball striking rounds for me I think, I hit 17 greens, a lot of two putts from 20 feet, and a couple of them went in. So, it was a good day.”
Sale, winner of the Philippine Open at the beginning of last year, is also putting together one of his strong performances and was helped by a pair of eagles, on the par-four second and par-five fourth.
“Things got hotter on the front nine,” he said.
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“Made a good birdie on one, and then holed on two, for eagle. I think I had like, 130 metres. Had a pitching wedge. I actually didn’t see it go in, because I was a bit below, but yeah, my caddy was just on top of the hill looking at it, and he’s like saying it’s looking good, looking good, and it went in. At first I didn’t believe him, but I heard the crowd cheering.
“And then after that, on the par five, hit a good tee shot, with a three wood. The wind was helping, and then a nice seven iron that rolled to like five metres and made the putt.”
Defending champion Doyeob Mun from Korea also returned a 66 to recover from his opening 72. He is well placed also at four under with Sale and four other players including England’s Steve Lewton.
Lewton was reeling the leaders in at the end of the day but made a double on the 16th before closing with a birdie on the last for a 71.
