Seoul, Korea: Kim Bi-o, a three-time winner on OneAsia, will try to spark his career back into life when he returns to the scene of one of his successes for this week’s GS Caltex Maekyung Open.
At the peak of his powers, Kim won three times on OneAsia in a fantastic 11-month spell from June, 2011, including a runaway five-stroke victory at the 2012 GS Caltex Maekyung Open over the tight Namseoul Country Club layout.
Despite a poor session on the driving range before his final round, Kim shot a closing 68 to claim the title on 15-under 273.
He followed that up the very next week with a three-stroke triumph in the SK Telecom Open, the back-to-back wins propelling him to the OneAsia Order of Merit title with winnings of US$380,745.
“That was something else,” said the 24-year-old Korean of the victories. “Everything went well for me. You just get into the zone.”
The Maekyung Open has been a happy hunting ground for home players with Park Jun-won becoming the 10th successive Korean winner of the title with a three-stroke triumph over Park Sung-hyun last year.
This year’s edition, starting today, is the second event on the 2015 circuit following the European Tour co-sanctioned US$3.2 million Volvo China Open which was won by OneAsia alumni Wu Ashun of China.
Great things were expected of Kim following his brilliant run on OneAsia but he struggled away from home, particularly in the United States where, at age 20, he was the youngest player to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2011 season, courtesy of an 11th place finish at Qualifying School.
He made just US$74,000 from 24 events on the Web.com Tour in 2013 and is now rebuilding his game in Asia where he feels more comfortable.
World Sport Group, a Full Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation, is the Media Partner for OneAsia, handling television coverage for all events.
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