Kim Sung-hyun (25) and Ishikawa Ryo (32), who shot a ‘dream 58’ on the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO), will play together at the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour’s Shinhan Donghae Open (total prize money: KRW 1.4 billion).

The Shinhan Donghae Open, co-hosted by the KPGA Korean Tour, JGTO and Asian Tour, will be held at the Ocean Course at Club 72 Country Club in Incheon for four days starting on July 7.

According to the groupings announced by the organizers on Friday, two days before the tournament, Kim Sung-hyun, Ishikawa and Asian Tour money list No. 2 Miguel Tabuena (Philippines) will start the first round at 11:50 a.m. on July 7.

It is a clash of the ’58-hit men’. Ishikawa, the “Original Golf Prince” with 18 career wins on the JGTO, shot 58 in the final round of the 2010 JGTO The Crowns and Kim Sung-hyun shot 58 in the final round of the 2021 JGTO Golf Partners Pro-Am tournament. The 58 has been dubbed the “Dream 58” because it has only been achieved once before on the PGA Tour (Jim Furyk in 2016). Last month, Bryson DeChambeau (USA) shot a 58 at the LIV Golf tournament.

Kim Sung-hyun is a PGA Tour rookie who made his way to the United States through Korea and Japan. In 2020, he won the KPGA Championship for the first time after qualifying on Monday, and the following year he won the Japan PGA Championship, making it a record for a Korean golfer to win both professional golf association championships.

He joined the PGA Tour in 2022 after a year on the PGA Tour’s second tier, the Confederation Tour, and had a successful rookie season, securing a seeding for the following season. This will be his first appearance on the KPGA in a year and three months after finishing tied for sixth at the KPGA Championship last June.

Ishikawa is one of the biggest stars in Japanese golf with 18 career JGTO wins and a world ranking of No. 29 in 2009. He became the youngest money winner in JGTO history in 2009 at the age of 18 and has made numerous records, including surpassing 100 million yen in earnings in his first year as a professional. He is currently ranked 12th on the money list this season.

As the tournament is co-hosted by three tours, the Korean, Japanese, and Asian tours, it will be interesting to see players representing each tour go head-to-head.

The Korean Tour is highlighted by the ‘Young Gun Trio’ of Lee Jae-kyung (24), the reigning Genesis Grand Prize winner, Choi Seung-bin (22), who won the KPGA Championship, and Chung Chan-min (24), who topped the GS Caltex Mae Kyung Open. Lee Jae-kyung leads the Genesis points this season and will be looking for her first Genesis title.

Other ‘big names’ representing the KPGA, including Kim Bi-Oh (33), Park Sang-hyun (40) and Seo Yoseop (27), will also be in attendance.

The star players of the Japan Tour will also be in Incheon. Defending champion Kazuki Higa will be absent due to his move to the DP World Tour, but next-generation star Keita Nakajima, 23, will be in action. Nakajima is currently second on the JGTO money list and was runner-up at the Hana Bank Invitational, co-organized by the Korean Tour and JGTO in Japan in June, where he battled to the end to win by one stroke over Ji-ho Yang. This time around, he’ll be back in Korea to try and win again.

Riki Kawamoto, the JGTO’s longest hitter, will also be there. He made a strong impression on the final day of the Hana Bank Invitational with a ‘daily best’ of 7-under par.

Song Young-han (32), who won the JGTO’s Sansan KBC Augusta two weeks ago for the first time in seven years, will also be competing in the sponsored event.

The Asian Tour’s secret weapon is Tai Chi Ko (HK). He turned professional in January and won his first title as an invitee at the Asian Tour World City Championship in his native Hong Kong in March.

Jang Yubin (21) and Cho Woo-young (22) check their shots before the Asian Games. Jang Yoo-bin and Cho Woo-young, along with PGA Tour players Lim Sung-jae (25) and Kim Si-woo (28), will be in the hunt for gold in the men’s golf event at the Hangzhou Asian Games, which begin on Aug. 28.

Organizer Shinhan Financial Group said in a statement that the nomination “provides an opportunity for both players to make final preparations ahead of the Asian Games.”메이저놀이터

The winner of the Shinhan Donghae Open will receive a five-year seed on the Korean Tour and two-year seeds on the Japan Tour and Asian Tour.

In addition, the first player to record a hole-in-one on the 17th hole (par-3) will receive a Porsche Taycan.