“I hope that it will be an opportunity for Korean and Thai golf prospects to gather and compete and grow further.”
Han Jae-young, president of Seokgyo Trading Company, who oversees the Bridgestone Golf Invitational Junior Golf Championship held at Suwan Golf & Country Club near Bangkok, Thailand on the 7th, explained the purpose of the tournament as follows.
The tournament, which started in 2019, was held as a friendly match for Korean players in the first year, and expanded to a competition format by expanding the participation of Thai players in 2020. This year, 81 Korean junior players training in Thailand and 50 local Thai players participated in a shot competition.
Seokgyo Sangsa, which hosts the tournament, plans to provide more opportunities for Korean junior players to gain experience and help develop junior golf not only in Korea but also in Asia.
Thailand is a golf powerhouse representing Asia, and it stands out on the professional stage as well as the junior stage. Five Thai male players were among the top 10 in last year’s Asian Tour prize money rankings. In the women’s category, World No. 4 Ataya Titikul, sisters Eriya and Moriya Jutanakan, and Patty Tawatanakit lifted the championship trophy on the LPGA Tour stage, growing into a golf powerhouse that threatens Korea.
President Han Jae-young said, “In other Asian countries such as Thailand and Japan, investment by associations and private companies is steadily continuing to nurture junior players, and good results are coming out as a result. On the other hand, Korea had a relatively lack of support for junior players,” he said. It started with the intention to do it,” he said.
It is important for growing junior players to gain various experiences. However, in Korea, there are not many opportunities to compete with foreign players unless you are selected for the national team or standing army. After the spread of Corona 19, domestic junior golf competitions also decreased. The reason why Korean players have been solicited to participate in this competition is because it is an opportunity to gain experience by participating in the competition. Some players have deliberately traveled all the way from Korea to Thailand after accepting applications for this tournament.
President Han said, “We are paying a lot of attention to the successful hosting of the tournament, but among them, we have expanded the tournament so that more players can participate.” ended sooner. Maybe the players have been waiting for this tournament,” he said. 온라인바카라
It is a one-day tournament held in 18-hole stroke play, but it is a good opportunity for players to gain experience and compete. In particular, it is a more special opportunity to play against a promising golfer in Thailand.
In accordance with the purpose of the competition, successes are also appearing little by little. Thailand’s Natakrita Bongavilap, who won the last 2020 tournament, has succeeded in advancing to the US Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) tour.
Due to the high participation rate of junior players, Seokgyo Sangsa plans to further expand the scale of the event.
President Han said, “Until now, in Korea, it was a method of discovering and investing in outstanding players. Now, I think we need to expand the target and support more players and create
opportunities,” he said.
“Currently, it is held once in Thailand, but in the future, we will expand the door so that Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese players can also participate, and if possible, we will cooperate with Japan, Thailand and Korea, etc. We want to cooperate and hold an official competition with a higher degree of perfection,” he added.
