Korean golfers to make pitch in final round

South Korea’s An Byeong-hun competes in the men’s individual stroke play at the Olympic Golf course during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Friday. / AFP-Yonhap

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

The South Korean men’s golf team failed to keep hope alive to claim a medal in the Rio Olympics as An Byeong-hun and Wang Jeung-hun left themselves in a difficult position to capture a medal, Saturday. There is still a bit of hope on the off-chance they can get into the final round, Sunday.

An began the third round of the Rio Olympic golf tournament at 2-under on Saturday, trailing overnight leader Australia’s Marcus Fraser by eight strokes. He stood tied for 18th with three others.

An, playing in the fickle weather, shot a one-over 72, Friday, having a total score of a two-under 140 through two days. He played in heavy rain through the first seven holes, and had two bogeys with no birdies on the front nine. He birdied the par-3 14th by draining a lengthy putt. Overall, An and Wang struggled in their second round, Friday, failing to successfully overcome a dose of misfortune. Despite many mistakes Friday, they remained in scant contention for a medal in the 2016 Summer Olympic Golf tournament. To capture a medal, An and Wang need a spurt of effort.

“The greens are tricky,” An said in an interview after the round, Friday. He added, “A player shot an eight-under on the opening day,” speaking of Fraser. “There’s nothing preventing me from doing the same. If I can play solidly the next two days, I’ll have my chance.”

On Saturday, An shot a one-under 70 at the par-71, 7,128-yard Olympic Golf Course, posting a three-under 210. He’s tied for 14th with seven others sitting nine shots behind the leader, Justin Rose of Great Britain. An is also six shots off the bronze medal position of Fraser. He incurred three straight bogeys on the par-4 12th, par-4 13th and par-3 14th, almost throwing away his opportunities to capture a medal.

His less-than-brilliant play Saturday left him in a position to go into his final round on the off-chance that he might be able to claim bronze.

An said, “I think I still have a chance.” “I think I am going to be more aggressive tomorrow,” he added. “I will attack the pins a little more actively.” Playing in the strong wind, he hit only seven of 13 fairways on Saturday.

Similarly, his less-than-solid ball-striking on Friday forced Wang to shoot one-over 72, losing him one stroke. Wang had a total score of even-par 142 through two days. He headed into the third round in 30th place among 60 competitors, 10 shots off the leader.

Wang had a disastrous third round, shooting his worst of the tournament. After a difficult second day, he bogeyed the first, second and third holes, and again on the 7th. On the back nine, he collected a birdie at the par-5 10th, but bogeyed again on the par-4 11th, par-4 13th, and par-3 14th. He shot a 6-over 77 and is now tied for 51st among 60 players with three others. His third round play was just a disaster. He failed to wait. He failed to endure. He lost the fight against himself.

Two Korean male golfers will regret that they could not show their abilities as much as they had to.

Sweden’s Henrick Stenson fired a 3-under 68 to be the lone runner-up at an 11-under 202.

Kim Jeong-kyoo is a Korea Times golf columnist. He can be reached at kimjstar@hanmail.net.