With only two events left in the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Tour season, the race for the Most Valuable Player award remains tight among Shin Sang-hoon, Jung Chan-min and Jang Yu-bin.
The three will compete in the Lexus Masters, a four-day tournament starting Oct. 29 at Club 72 Country Club (par 71) in Incheon, with total prize money of 1 billion won ($694,000).
Shin currently leads the MVP points standings with 5,255.51, followed by Jung with 4,744.77 and Jang with 4,576.75. If Shin wins this week's tournament to collect 1,000 MVP points while Jung finishes fourth or lower and Jang finishes second or lower, Shin will clinch the award regardless of the result of the season finale.
Shin has been in form over his last five starts, posting a win, a tie for eighth, a tie for sixth, a runner-up finish and a tie for fourth. "If I play with winning as my goal, I believe good results will follow naturally," Shin said. "Rather than the points gap with the other players, I will focus on the two remaining tournaments themselves."
Jung, who won wire-to-wire at The Charity Classic two weeks ago, is chasing his first MVP title. He is also in contention for the scoring average award, leading that category with a season mark of 69.54 strokes.
Jang, third in the MVP standings, is looking for a late comeback. He topped the standings through the first half of the season with two wins, but his pace fell sharply in the second half. He has not finished inside the top 20 in his last five starts.
Kim Jae-ho, who claimed his first career victory at this event last year at age 41, returns to defend the title. "Winning back-to-back is probably the dream and the goal of every defending champion," Kim said. "It is not an opportunity that comes easily, so I want to make the most of it."
The top 70 players in the MVP points rankings after this tournament will advance to the season finale, the KPGA Tour Championship, which begins Nov. 5 on Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.