GOLFZON GTOUR Screen Golf King Kim Hong-taek Conquers KPGA Major GS Caltex Maekyung Open

• Kim Hong-taek: “My 12 wins on the GOLFZON GTOUR and the course-management experience were a huge help in this victory.”
• 2 career wins on the KPGA Tour and a record-high 12 career wins in GOLFZON GTOUR screen golf competitions
• Training intensively at the GOLFZON Leadbetter Academy since last December…, achieving the milestone of two or more wins on both the KPGA Tour and the GTOUR

Kim Hong-taek, the ‘screen golf king’ who holds the record for most wins with 12 victories in the GTOUR screen golf competitions hosted by GOLFZON Co., Ltd. (Co-CEOs Park Kang-soo and Choi Deok-hyeong), has lifted the trophy at the 43rd GS Caltex Maekyung Open (total prize purse of KRW 1.3 billion), a major-level event on the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Tour. Seven years after claiming his first career title at the 2017 KPGA Dong-A Membership Dynamic Busan Open, Kim achieved his second career win and set the milestone of recording two or more wins on both the KPGA regular tour and the GOLFZON GTOUR.

Kim Hong-taek claimed an emotional victory by edging out Thailand’s Chonlatit Chuenboonngam by one stroke in a playoff during the tournament’s final round, held on the 5th at Namseoul Country Club in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. After dramatically tying for the lead with a four-round total of 10-under-par 274 in the final round to advance to the playoff, Kim recorded a steady par on the par-4 18th hole in the first playoff round, beating Chuenboonngam—who carded a bogey—by one stroke to settle the contest in just one hole.

In an interview following his victory at the 43rd GS Caltex Maekyung Open, Kim Hong-taek said, “Until now I had only one win on the field, but my experience of winning many GOLFZON GTOUR screen golf competitions helped me relax under pressure,” and added, “I was also able to learn how to manage tour-course play well through GOLFZON screen golf.” Beyond his thoughts on the win, Kim declared, “Screen golf is a great help to field golf,” showing his affection for screen golf as its reigning king.

Ahead of this year’s KPGA Tour season, Kim Hong-taek has been steadily training hard since last December at the GOLFZON Leadbetter Academy (GOLFZON LEADBETTER ACADEMY), which GOLFZON operates to develop world-class golfers. Since lifting his first trophy at the ‘2013-14 GTOUR Men’s Summer Season 4th Leg,’ held over two days starting September 7, 2013, Kim added two more wins in the 2023 season alone to reach 12 career wins. Based on his powerful long drives and precise iron shots on the GTOUR, Kim set the record for most wins (12 wins, tied with pros Kim Min-soo and Choi Min-wook) and came to be known as the GOLFZON ‘screen golf king.’

Son Jang-soon, Senior Vice President of GOLFZON’s Media Business Division, which leads the GOLFZON GTOUR competitions, said, “By winning the GS Caltex Maekyung Open, a major-level KPGA Tour event, Kim Hong-taek proved the field-golf prowess of the GTOUR’s all-time wins record holder,” and added, “GOLFZON plans to continue expanding the scale of the GTOUR—Korea’s leading screen golf tour, now in its 13th year since its launch—so that it can offer fresh entertainment to golf fans at home and abroad.”

Founded in 2012, the GTOUR has expanded its tour scale every year in terms of total prize money, the number of finalists, sponsors and more, surpassing KRW 10 billion in cumulative prize money in 2020 and now poised to exceed KRW 14 billion in total prize money in 2024. The GTOUR has about 3,000 registered members, with more than 200 KPGA and KLPGA professional golfers joining and competing each year, and the number of tournaments held continues to grow as well.