User talk:'Wedge master' Chung "would have missed the cut if not for my short game"

Chung Chan-min at a press conference.

"If it wasn't for my short game and putting, I probably wouldn't have made the cut, let alone won."

Chung Chan-min, dubbed "Korea's Deschambeau," has a long game that emanates from his massive frame of nearly 120 kilograms.

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 cited his short game as the driving force behind his victory.

"I'm naturally a short game player. 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 also had fun with wedge shots on the final day.

On the eighth hole (par-3), Chung made birdie with a picturesque lob shot from 20 meters outside the green.

In the past, Chung had often found himself in trouble with lob shots that soared around the green and then settled on the green.

"I was thinking about it and decided to play the shot I wanted to play, and it worked out well," he said.

He made a precise chip shot for birdie on the ninth (par-5) and a flop shot from a 30-meter downhill lie on the 11th (par-4) that landed just 1 meter short of the hole.

His birdie at the 18th (par-5), after trailing by one stroke, came after he rolled a chip shot from the side of the green to within one meter of the hole.

"I think it's more important to have a good short game than to practice," said Chung, who is a natural long hitter.

Chung shot to stardom after winning her maiden title at the GS Caltex Mae Kyung Open in May, but hasn't had much success since tying 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 4 kilograms in weight and about 20 meters in distance.

"After my first win, I had almost given up on winning more than once," said Chung, who was forced to compete even though he had to rest to keep his game in shape. "I didn't expect it, but I'm so happy that I was able to win my second title so soon," he said.

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 middle 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 tournament," he says, "and after I turned pro, I wanted to play in the tournament here, and I even won," he smiles.

"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.

"First, I will focus on regaining the distance I lost and improving my accuracy," he said, "and then I will go to the LIV Golf Qualifier 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." 19가이드03