[Interview file]'Genesis Man' Kim Tae-hoon "The third car is a gift to the wife"

● Only three Genesis vehicles received in a new competition in four months…

Kim Tae-hoon (36), who made his debut on the PGA Tour in the U.S. 14 years after his debut as a

professional golfer, was eliminated from the Genesis Invitational, but recorded'Shot Eagle' and'Hole in One' on the first day of his debut, leaving a strong impression on the PGA Tour. Decorated the main homepage

On the first day, I received a G80 car for a hole-in-one injury, and in only four months, it was only the third Genesis car that I received as a result of an injury at a golf tournament, so a special relationship with Genesis became a hot topic.

The domestic media even gave him the modifiers'Genesis Man' and'Three Car Golfers'.

Kim Tae-hoon said that he gave the GV80, which he received when he won the KPGA Korean Tour Genesis Championship in October last year, to his father, the GV70, which he received as the Genesis Grand Prize, to his mother, and that he will give the third vehicle G80 to his wife.

Tae-hoon Kim, a representative long hitter of Korean men's golf, was called'Terius' in the golf world because of his top-notch skills and handsome appearance.

At the time of his debut on the KPGA Korean Tour in 2007, his eldest father was known as Kim Jun-hwan (Hae-Tae), the MVP of the Korean series of professional baseball in 1987.

He won the Boseong CC Classic in 2013, the Kaido Golf Tour Championship in 2015, the Busan Open in 2018, and the Genesis Championship in 2020.In particular, last year, he won the Genesis Grand Prize and the prize money winner for the first time in his life. I informed.

Even though he is such a good star player, he hasn't had a sponsor for the past three years.

It was a sad reality that occurred as the popularity of Korean men's professional golf fell behind women's professional golf.

Then, I joined the Golf Club of Web Cash Group (a B2B fintech company) founded at the end of last year, and signed a five-year contract with Bizplay, a subsidiary, earlier this year.

When the sponsorship contract issue was resolved, Taehoon Kim can now stably devote himself to the tour.

The first competition to be held with the logo of the new sponsor, Biz Play (electronic payment service company) on the front of the hat, was the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational, and on the first day, I was lucky to ride a Genesis vehicle with a hole in one.

A stage of dream that any male golfer wants to step on at one time. He first appeared on the PGA Tour, spent two dream-like days, returned to self-isolation, met Tae-hoon Kim on the phone, and experienced a PGA tour late in his mid-30s, and a special relationship with Genesis. I heard behind the scenes about the car I suffered from a hole-in-one injury.

“It was a lot of regret. At first, I was worried about Corona 19, but rather than the Corona, I suffered from the abnormal climate that hit the United States. Because Korea was cold, I couldn’t practice much, so I went to a warm place in advance to practice in Dallas, Texas 10 days before the competition. I was planning to practice there for about a week and then move to the venue, but a surprise cold wave came and everything was in a mess. I couldn’t practice outside as it went down to -18 degrees Celsius. In a word, it was twisted from the beginning. I have a style that requires a lot of practice to find normal condition. I was the most regretful that I had the debut match I expected when I couldn’t go to the course and practiced a lot.”

"I was lucky. Bunker Shot Eagle had a pretty high bunker jaw, but the shot was good. But I really didn't know it would fit right into the hole. And the 16th hole (par 3) hole-in-one was 168 yards from the hole. I grabbed the 7 iron and hit it with the idea of ​​sending 173 to 4 yards, and that's what I went in. The first day before the PGA debut, I had a really unforgettable experience in my life, but the next day of the tournament was marked by a lack of practice. I couldn’t pass the cut in the end because there were a lot of them."

"American grass is very different from our grass. It's hard because you press down on the fairway. To put it a little stronger, it feels like a footstool mat in a practice field? The grass is very well maintained and short, so the ball is sticking to it. I was worried a lot, but when I hit it, the short game went well without any problems, and the solid fairway has the advantage that the ball rolls further. If the driver is right, it is basically going out at 320 yards. I guess I was 305 yards long on the Korean Tour last year, but I think it's about 15 yards longer than the soft fairway of a Korean golf course."

● "The

“Yes, my fears have disappeared. When I hit the practice range, my driver distance was no less than that of the PGA players, except for a few of the best long hitters. Have I looked up at the PGA Tour so far? I also thought that the

I went out of the competition in normal condition, I could try to reach the top 10.

All

“Because it was my first time at a PGA tournament, I wanted to see the high-quality shots of the PGA players up close, even if they weren't very top class, but the team formation was so disappointing. I played with two amateur players, and they were too bad to hit the ball. Besides, one shot was a shot. It wasn't too bad, so I gave up after the first day, so I played two players in the second round. Of course, the tension fell, the rhythm broke, and the lack of practice overlapped… The result wasn't good. It's good to meet the team well (laughs)…."

“This winter, I couldn’t train overseas because of Corona 19, and I prepared the season mainly focusing on physical strength training at home, but I am confident that I can achieve more than last year’s season this year. Although the tour schedule has not yet been announced, competitions canceled due to corona last year. I expect that there will be at least 17 competitions if I add up to the new competitions, and it would be better if I win at least 1 or more and win the Genesis Championship, which has a special relationship with me, for two years in a row."

Korea Men's Professional Golf, KPGA Korean Tour is a domestic competition Due to the small number of players, many players take a tour in Japan for a living, but Taehoon Kim is not interested in tours in Japan.

"I used to knock on tours in Japan, but after I went to qualifying school in 2014 and then fell, I never tried itself. It doesn't seem to suit me, and I don't want to leave my wife and son (20 months) after marriage."

Kim Tae-hoon has been inaugurated as KPGA Chairman Koo Ja-cheol in January last year. He said he lost and appealed for a lot of interest in men's golf.

"Even though 7 competitions were canceled due to Corona 19 last year, I think that the reason we were able to play 11 competitions is because the new president played a decisive role in creating 2 new competitions. Players are also working hard to restore popularity. In order to communicate with the amateurs who accompany the pro-am rounds in the past few years, players have been hitting together at the white tee, making fine rules to reduce trash on the course, and doing a quit campaign, and they have been making a lot of effort. Even if it is played, the players will live up to the expectations of fans and sponsors with a great game and good performance, so I would appreciate your support."

Taehoon Kim, 36 this year, has increased the average distance of drive shots every year over the past three years.

(293.3 yards in 2018 / 299.7 yards in 2019 / 304. 5 yards in 2020) He

said that he would like to keep a special relationship with Genesis for a long time, saying that the distance is likely to increase this year.

"Because male athletes are able to tour enough even if they are over 40 years old. I also want to be a player for more than 10 years. I think I can do it. To compete with young athletes, I need to take good care of my body."

If Taehoon Kim gets another Genesis vehicle in the future, who will he give the fourth car to?