Kim Yeong-soo (34), who stood tall as the number one player in domestic men’s golf last year, chose the opening game of the Asian Tour International Series as the first stage of the new season.
The PIF Saudi International, the opening game of the Asian Tour, with a total prize money of 5 million dollars, will be held in Saudi Arabia for four days from the 2nd of next month.
Kim Young-soo, who won his first championship 스포츠토토 after 11 years of debut at the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour Genesis Championship in October of last year, followed by winning the LG Signature Players Championship in the final game of the season held in November, becoming the number one male golfer in Korea. Of course, the grand prize and prize money belonged to Kim Young-soo, and at the KPGA Awards Ceremony held after the season, he even won the Skill Development Award selected by the Korea Golf Journalists. In addition to the honor of winning three crowns, he also received various privileges, such as a one-year DP World Tour seed.
Gathering momentum last year, Kim Young-soo starts the second round of his golf career on a bigger stage, Europe, this year. The main stage is the DP World Tour, but it holds the right to participate in the Asian Tour International Series, so it opens with an international series. After that, he goes straight to the United States and challenges the Genesis Invitational of the American Professional Golf (PGA) Tour, which opens in mid-February, and then joins the DP World Tour.
In a recent interview with JTBC Golf, Kim Young-soo revealed his impression of challenging a new stage. “There may be many people who are looking forward to this year as we achieved great results, such as sweeping the grand prize and prize money on last year’s Korean Tour. However, as I am active on the DP World Tour, I am thinking of putting everything down and starting over from the bottom,” he said. “Europe stage I will learn a lot while playing with top-class players and try to overcome it well in a difficult environment.”
He continued, “In the opening game of the Asian Tour, I plan to focus on improving my performance. My first goal is to advance to the finals. If successful, I will aim for the top 10.”
Kim Young-soo will leave for Saudi Arabia via Incheon Airport on January 28 after completing winter training in his hometown of Changwon.