The race to win the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour’s KB Financial Live Championship is heating up. ‘King of the screen’ Kim Min-soo and ‘monster long hitter’ Chung Chan-min are at the top of the leaderboard.

The second round of the tournament took place on the 26th at Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do. After dropping four strokes on the first day, Kim shot a three-under-par 69 on the second day. He is tied for the lead at seven-under-par 137, giving him a chance to make a serious push for the title over the weekend.

With 10 career victories on the GTOUR, Kim has been nicknamed the ‘King of the Screen’ and ‘Emperor of the Screen’. Among golf fans interested in screen golf, he is a household name.

However, he has yet to reach the top of the Korean Tour. He made his Korean Tour debut in 2012 and his best finish on the tour was a tie for fourth at the Hyundai Marine Choi Kyung Joo Invitational in 2021.

The key to his seven stroke improvement over two days at the tricky Blackstone Golf Club, where players are happy to shoot even par, was strategic play. Avoiding places he shouldn’t have, Kim made it through the second day without too much trouble.

“At Blackstone Golf Club, one mistake can cost you a lot of strokes,” said Kim. My strategy was to avoid bogeys as much as possible, and it worked well until the second day.” “My goal is to play like I did today in the remaining rounds. I’m going to try my best to finish this tournament on a high note.”

Kim Min-soo, who has struggled with his approach game for more than a decade, said he is determined to win with his precise iron shots. “I have anxiety about wedge shots when I approach from within 20 metres. I had one shank today as well,” he said, adding, “I will go birdie hunting on the weekend with my confident iron shots.”

“I hope that golf fans will remember me as a Korean Tour winner instead of a screen king,” said Kim Min-soo, who revealed that he has a greater desire to win the Korean Tour than the G Tour. “A real round is incomparably harder than screen golf, so I have a desire메이저사이트 to play better,” he laughed.

Chung, who has become one of the most popular players on the Korean Tour after winning the GS Caltex Mae Kyung Open, showed his injury fighting spirit at the tournament. He injured his back on the third hole of the first day after tripping and falling, but managed to shave two strokes off his score. Despite the back pain, Chung’s long game shone through. He hit a 353-yarder on the first and easily went over 300 yards on the 12th and 14th holes.

His two strokes on the day gave him a three-under par total of 141 and he finished the second round in a tie for eighth place. “My back pain got worse before the second day and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to finish, but I’m happy with my two-under-par score,” said Chung. “I think it’s because I didn’t give up and tried my best until the end. I will focus on recovering from my injury before the third day and hopefully have a better weekend.” “My strategy of not going for distance and staying in the fairways worked well. I will continue to play precise shots in the remaining rounds to reduce my strokes.”

Another reason for Chung to finish the day was the golf fans. “I didn’t want to disappoint the golf fans who came to the tournament to watch me. Their support, including clapping and cheering, gave me strength,” he said.

He also expressed his desire to experience the thrill of winning again sooner rather than later. “I won the GS Caltex Mae Kyung Open once, so I want to do it again, and I hope to continue to increase the number of wins, such as two or three,” he said. “Playing against Choi Kyung Joo at the last SK Telecom Open, I realised the importance of not giving up. I will give 100 percent of my effort shot by shot so that the rest of the season will be known as a persistent player.”