The field for next week’s Kazakhstan Open will include three rising stars from Korea after Dong-kyu Jang, Kyung-nam Kang and Dae-hyun Kim were all offered sponsor’s invitations.
The talented trio, who ply their trade predominantly on the Korean Tour, will take their places alongside the cream of the Challenge Tour at the seventh edition of the €400,000 event, which returns to Nurtau Golf Club, on the outskirts of the city of Almaty, after a two-year absence.
Of the three men Kim has enjoyed the most success, having won the Korean Tour Order of Merit last year thanks chiefly to his victory at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open.
The win was his second on the Korean Tour, following his debut victory at the 2009 Korean-China KEB Invitational, and the 23 year old has carried his fine form into this season, with tied fifth finishes at the Dongbu Promy Open and the T’way Air helping him to seventh place on the Order of Merit.
Kang is currently one place lower in eighth, thanks mainly to his victory at the Dongbu Promy Open. Like his compatriot Kim, Kang has two Korean Tour titles to his name and the 28 year old has also impressed in his occasional appearances on The European Tour, with a tied fifth finish at the 2010 Barclays Singapore Open his best performance to date.
Jang, a 22 year old from the Korean capital Seoul, has also made great strides since turning professional in 2006, finishing in a career-high of 21st place on the 2010 Order of Merit after a superbly consistent season which yielded five top ten finishes.
The trio will be joined at the spectacular Nurtau Golf Club by former World Number One tennis star Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who is also playing under a sponsor’s invitation after deciding to swap his racket for a set of clubs in 2005.
The 37 year old Russian is competing for the second time in the tournament, which again carries the biggest prize fund of a regular Challenge Tour event.
News
