Dubbed ‘Korea’s Deschambeau’, Chung has a long game that comes from his 6ft 2in frame.
When he puts his mind to it, he can hit it 350 yards.
After defeating Kang Kyung-nam in a playoff on the final day of the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour’s Golf Zone-Doray Open at Seonsan Country Club (Par 72) in Golf Zone County, Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do on Friday, Chung credited his short game rather than his long game as the driving force behind his victory.
He said, “I’m naturally good at the short game. I’m most confident with my lob and flop shots,” he said.
“When I’m close to the green, I use almost a 60-degree wedge,” said Chung, who carries four wedges, adding that he had fun with wedge shots on the final day.
On the eighth hole (par-3), Chung hit a picturesque lob shot from 20 metres outside the green for birdie.
In the past, Chung has often come out of trouble with lob shots that soar around the green before settling on the green.
“After thinking about it, I decided to play the shot I wanted to play and it worked out well,” said Chung.
He made birdie on the ninth (par-5) with a precise chip shot and on the 11th (par-4) with a flop shot from a 30-metre downhill lie that landed just a metre short of the hole.
His birdie at the 18th (par-5), after trailing by a stroke, came after he rolled a chip shot from the side of the green to within a metre of the hole.
A natural long hitter, Chung said, “I think it’s more important to have a good short game than to practice,” attributing it to his natural senses.
Chung shot to stardom after winning his maiden title at the GS Caltex Mae Kyung Open in May, but hasn’t had much success since a tie for seventh at the Woori Financial Championship.
“I had an inflammation in the rotator cuff of my left shoulder,” Chung confessed.
Due to poor training and practice, he lost about 4kg in weight and his distance dropped by about 20 metres.
“After my first win, I had almost given up on winning more than once,” said Chung, who was forced to compete despite having to rest, “but I’m so happy that I was able to win my second title so quickly when I didn’t expect it.”
His sore shoulder is much better now and the pain has almost disappeared since the last tournament, he added.
What makes Chung even happier is that the tournament was held at the Golf Zone County Sunsan Country Club, the same course where he spent his “youth”.
He moved to Gumi in his second year of junior high school and attended Gumi until high school.
The cost of golf in the metropolitan area was too high, so he looked for a rural area.
“I used to come here a lot for the Gyeongsangbuk-do regional tournaments,” he says, adding, “After I turned pro, I wanted to play in the tournaments held here, and I even won one.”
“I want to win the next tournament, the season finale,” he said, adding that after the season, he will continue to train and rehabilitate to prepare for the bigger stage.
“Firstly, I will focus on regaining the distance I lost and improving my accuracy,” he said, “and then I will go to the LIV Golf Qualifying in Abu Dhabi in December as a test.”
“It would be great to have the opportunity to play in LIV Golf,” said Chung, who added, “I’m not a member of the PGA Tour, so I don’t think I’ll be at any disadvantage.” 토토사이트