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It’s not every day that you see someone get disqualified from a tournament because of a clerical error by the tournament hosts. A KPGA Tour player faced the same issue a few hours ago after the organizers rejected his score because it didn’t align with the leaderboard. Turns out it was the tournament employees who made the mistake. But they couldn’t turn back on their decision. The pro recently shared an Instagram story to explain his side of things.

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“Hello, this is Kim Mingyu. This incident was due to an error in the scorecard recording process, and I respect the competition regulations and the final decision,” Minkyu Kim wrote on May 24. “However, despite both the player and official records recognizing the same total score during the post-round check, it is regrettable that the specific clerical error was not caught in the hole-by-hole verification process before final submission. Rather than blaming anyone, I believe this incident serves as an opportunity for both players and tournament organizers to reflect on the importance of accurate verification procedures.”

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Kim was playing in the third round of the 2026 Kolon Korea Open. The 25-year-old finished T6 at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in early May and was thus in excellent form. He had made it past the cutline, but struggled a bit on Saturday. Before submitting his scorecard, he was sitting tied for 39th with a 5-over par on the leaderboard.

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Apparently, he counted himself scoring a par on the par-3 16th hole instead of a bogey. But as Kim argued, the final score was the same, as reflected in the official records. The minor error cost him the prize money and a shot at playing in the final round. Six strokes separated him from top-10 contention.

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Kim is no stranger to the championship. He has won the title at Woo Jeong Hills in 2022 and 2024, so he knew that the officials had made a blunder.

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Apart from Kim, some other big names missed the cut for the last few rounds.

Minkyu Kim was competing with a major winner and the brother of a PGA Tour player

Sitting 33rd on the Genesis points table, Kim would be eager to earn more points on the KPGA rankings. But he faced two major threats at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club this week.

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One was Brooks Koepka‘s brother, Chase, who was also competing. Unfortunately, he missed the cut, shooting 5-over par.

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Another American pro who joined the event for the first time after 20 years was Bubba Watson. But even he failed to impress, missing the cut by shooting a 7-over par in the first two rounds.

All three rounds of the 68th Kolon Korea Open have been quite eventful so far. It will be interesting to see what happens on Championship Sunday as Jiho Yang goes for the win.

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Molin Sheth

2,174 Articles

Molin Sheth is a senior Golf writer at EssentiallySports and a key member of the ES Golf Trends Desk. He brings strong editorial judgment and a data-driven approach to uncovering the game’s overlooked angles, delivering insightful play-by-play reporting across golf’s four major championships. As part of the EssentiallySports Journalistic Excellence Program, an in-house initiative that mentors and develops writers through expert guidance and rigorous training, Molin works closely with industry-leading mentors to bring clarity and depth to a sport where precision matters and every shot tells a story. Molin comes from a diverse professional background that enriches his coverage. With extensive experience in digital marketing, content management, and quality assurance, he excels at optimizing processes and enhancing user experiences, skills that translate into delivering well-researched, engaging content efficiently. His roles in customer support, technical troubleshooting, and cross-functional collaboration have honed his problem-solving abilities and attention to detail. This comprehensive skill set allows Molin to approach golf reporting with a unique blend of creativity, analytical rigor, and operational excellence, ensuring his work resonates with both casual fans and serious golf enthusiasts.

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Abhimanyu Gupta

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