Minus the defending champion from the U.S., homegrown stars will vie for South Korea’s national golf championship this week.

The 55th Kolon Korea Open will tee off Thursday at Woojeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, about 90 kilometers south of Seoul. The winner’s paycheck will be 300 million won ($270,000), the largest offered at a golf tournament held in South Korea.

Defending champion Rickie Fowler won’t play on the par-71, 7,225-yard layout this year because of back problems. He informed the tournament organizers of his withdrawal last week, saying his doctors had instructed him to avoid international travel and any tournament play.

Without Fowler, other former Korea Open winners are likely to contend for this year’s title.

Yang Yong-eun, the 2009 PGA Championship winner, is one of three players this week with two Korea Open titles. Best known for edging then-world No. 1 Tiger Woods in the final round to capture the 2009 PGA Championship, Yang won his first Korea Open in 2006 and overcame a 10-shot final round deficit to take the national title in 2010.

Yang has arrived in South Korea in good form, after finishing runner-up in a playoff at the Nanshan China Masters on the OneAsia Tour last weekend.

“I haven’t played well on the PGA Tour this year, but I think I am getting my groove back after the close-call last weekend,” Yang said at a pre-tournament press conference here Tuesday. He posted no top-10 finishes in 20 PGA Tour starts this year with seven missed cuts.

“I’ve always done well at Woojeong Hills, and I will try to build on those fond memories and turn around my season this week,” he added.

Yang pointed to his flying right elbow on the backswing as the main cause of his season-long woes. He said once he lost his balance on the swing, it also affected his putting.

The 40-year-old said he has fixed his issues, and it has already begun to pay dividends.

“For last week, I shortened my swing and it worked out well,” he said. “I will stick to my new swing for the time being and will try to keep my right elbow close to the body.”

Two others in the field have won the Korea Open twice.

Bae Sang-moon, 26, was the back-to-back champion in 2008 and 2009. Kim Dae-sub remains the only amateur champion of the Korea Open, having lifted the trophy in 1998 and 2001. Kim won a Korean tour event on Sept. 16, three weeks after his discharge from the mandatory military service.

Bae is making his first Korea Open appearance in two years and said he can’t wait to get back to the course.

“I always play at Woojeong Hills with confidence, and after watching the setup during the pro-am Monday, I’ve grown even more confident,” Bae said. “My two Korea Open wins helped me develop into a better player. I hope to showcase my skills this week.”

Noh Seung-yul was the victim of Yang’s ferocious final round charge in 2010. The 21-year-old, the Asian Tour’s money leader in 2010, said he hopes to get his first win on home soil this week.

The Korea Open doesn’t lack international stars. Ryo Ishikawa, a nine-time Japanese tour winner and a former money winner in his native land, will play in his second Korea Open.

He came to the 2009 Korea Open as the money leader in Japan, but tied for 15th here, 10 strokes behind the champion, Bae. Ryo said things will be different this time.

“Three years ago, I came in full of confidence, and it was frustrating not to contend for the title,” Ryo said through an interpreter. “The Korea Open had a difficult setup then, and I’d like to play better in this challenging setting this year.”

Organizers have altered the playoff format for this year.

Previously, players who were tied after 72 holes squared off in a sudden-death setting on the 18th. This year, the playoff will be played on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes, and the aggregate score will determine the champion.

The Korea Open is co-sanctioned by the Korean Tour and OneAsia Tour, which was founded in 2009 as a joint venture between golf associations of South Korea, China and the PGA Tour of Australasia. 

(Yonhap News)