Genesis Championship: The Punter's Preview

Genesis Championship tournament history

This is the 10^th edition of the Genesis Championship but it's only the third time it's featured on the DP World Tour.

The first eight editions, including the 2024 edition on the DP World Tour, won by Byeung-hun An in extra time, were staged at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea but for the second year in-a-row, the tournament is staged at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club this time around.

The tournament is co-sanctioned with the KPGA TOUR, with a field that will comprise of 90 DP World Tour players and 36 from the KPGA TOUR, and it's a vital tournament for those plying their trade on the DP World Tour.

As the last counting event of the regular season, the top 100 players on the Race to Dubai Rankings at the conclusion of the tournament will earn their DP World Tour cards for 2027, while the top 70 will qualify for the DP World Tour Play-Offs.

The DP World Tour playoffs consist of just two events - the Abu Dhabi Championship in a fortnight's time and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai the following week.

Last year's renewal was won by the 34-year-old Korean, Junghwan Lee, who was matched at 1000.0999/1 on the Betfair Exchange before the off. 

Venue

Woo Jeong Hills CC, Cheonan, South Korea.

Course Details

Par 71, 7367 yards

Designed by Perry Dye in 1993, the son of legendary designer, Pete Dye, Woo Jeong Hills is a long, tough, hilly, bentgrass course with water in play on the majority of holes.

Since 2003, apart from 2025 when the event switched to the brand-new La Vie est Belle Country Club, Woo Jeong Hills has hosted the Korea Open on the KPGA TOUR..

Rickie Fowler won his first professional event at Woo Jeong Hills, way back in 2011, beating the runner-up, Rory McIlroy, by six strokes having reached 16-under-par, the lowest winning total here in more than 20 years (matched by K.H Lee in 2016).

Major winners, Y.E Yang, Vijay Singh and John Daly have also won the Korea Open at Woo Jeong Hills and that's a big clue in itself.

Min-kyu Kim won the 2024 edition here with an 11-under-par total but the four winners before him won with a single-figure total, as did this year's winner, Yang Ji-ho, demonstrating just how tough a layout this is.

Last year's winner of this event, Junghwan Lee, reached -11 but he finished the event three clear of the rest. 

Weather Forecast

TV Coverage

Live on Sky Sports all four days, starting at 04:00 on Thursday in the UK.

2025 result at Woo Jeong Hills with stats

(Key: DD - Driving Distance; DA - Driving Accuracy; GIR - Greens in Regulation; SC - Scrambling; PA - Putting Average)

Junghwan Lee -11 - DD: 22, DA: 28, GIR: 25, SC: 27, PA: 3
Laurie Canter -8 - DD: 32, DA: 55, GIR: 13, SC: 26, PA: 37
Nacho Elvira -8 - DD: 34, DA: 41, GIR: 51, SC: 19, PA: 5

Korea Open winners at Woo Jeong Hills with stats

2003 - John Daly -6 (no stats available)
2004 - Edward Loar -2 (no stats available)
2005 - Gwang-soo Choi -2 (no stats available)
2006 - Y.E Yang -14 (no stats available)
2007 - Vijay Singh -6 (no stats available)
2008 - Sang-moon Bae -11 (no stats available)
2009 - Sang-moon Bae -10 (no stats available)
2010 - Y.E Yang -4 (no stats available)
2011 - Rickie Fowler -16 (no stats available)
2012 - Dae-sub Kim -5 (no stats available)
2013 - Sung-hoon Kang -4 (no stats available)
2014 - Seung-hyuk Kim -2 (no stats available)
2015 - K.H Lee -13 (no stats available)
2016 - K.H Lee -16 (no stats available)
2017 - Yikeun Chang -7 (no stats available)
2018 - Min-Chel Choi -12 (no stats available)
2019 - Jazz Janewattananond -6 - DD 13, DA 27, GIR 5, SCR 1 PA 7
2020 - Cancelled due to pandemic
2021 - Junseok Lee -8 (no stats available)
2022 - Min-kyu Kim -4 - (no stats available)
2023 - Seungsu Han -6 - (no stats available)
2024 - Min-kyu Kim -11 - DD 21, DA 6, GIR 1, SCR 13 PA 1
2026 - Jiho Yang -4 - DD 46, DA 36, GIR 27, SCR 34 PA 1

With stats produced for only four of the 23 course winners this century, we don't have much to go on statistically but what is apparent looking at the above list is the calibre of some of the winners here.

In addition to Rickie Fowler and the aforementioned three major winners, Sang-moon Bae and K.H Lee, who have both won on the PGA Tour, have also been victorious at Woo Jeong Hills so the cream has often risen to the top.

From a statistical point of view, the only stat that stands out is Putting Average.

Last year's winner of this event here, Junghwan Lee, ranked third for PA and the three winners of the Korea Open, that we have stats for, have ranked seventh, first and first.

Will the Bubble Boys and LIV Lads make a move?

There are DP World Tour players in the field this week that are desperate for a good finish to either secure their playing privileges for next season or to earn a spot in the playoffs.

Those outside the top 100 will need to raise their game to keep their cards and that creates a lot of pressure, but they'll also feel they have nothing to lose, and that's even more the case for those that have their playing rights wrapped up but that are eying a spot in Abu Dhabi in two weeks.

It would be no surprise at all to see one or two players that sit around the 100-mark contending and it's even more likely that we see players just outside the top 70 finding something extra.

As Adrian Meronk demonstrated at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the start of the month, with their futures unknown, some of those that have been plying their trade on the LIV Tour have raised their game.

A victory on the DP World Tour would give them a two-year exemption and a bit of security so they've got plenty to play for this week given they're drinking in the last chance saloon.

Don't rule out an off-the-pace victor

Jiho Yang, who won the Korea Open here in May, won wire-to wire and clear 54-hole leaders have a great record at Woo Jeong Hills with 10 of the 17 players to hold a clear advantage through three rounds this century going on to win, but being up with the pace is far from essential and last year's winner of this event, Junghwan Lee, sat tied for 59^th after round one.

He was tied for the lead at halfway after a 65 on Friday but he was trading at a triple-figure price when he sat tied for 12^th and four adrift with 18 to play before shooting 64 on Sunday to win by three.

Y.E Yang also sat tied for 12^th after 54 holes back in 2010, but he was 10 strokes back with a round to go so winning from off the pace is doable.

The five-stroke third round leader, Seung-yul Noh, who shot 79 on Sunday, certainly helped his cause and it looks like poor weather helped too given there were so few rounds in the 60s in round four. Yang shot 66 to win by two.

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