Herald Corp. will stage a professional golf tournament next week in a bid to boost the development of men’s golf in Korea.

The Herald-KYJ Tour Championship will be held on the Hill and Ocean Courses in Lotte Skyhill Jeju Country Club in Seogwipo, Jeju Province, from Oct. 29-Nov. 1

Herald Corp. CEO and publisher Lee Young-man, Korea Professional Golfers’ Association chairman Hwang Sung-ha and KATANA chairman Kim Hong-deug signed an agreement to hold the closing event of this season on the KPGA Korean Tour in a ceremony at Herald Corp. on Wednesday.

The championship, which also commemorates the 60th anniversary of Herald Corp., will be organized by the KPGA, co-sponsored by KYJ, a golf wear maker, and broadcast by J Golf, a golf cable TV channel.

The tournament will feature 102 players from four countries competing for the championship title, which will likely affect the Korean Tour’s money rankings, lowest score record of this season and golfers’ seeds for next season.

Current money leader, Kang Sung-hoon of Korea, seeks his third straight win, a feat unseen on the Korean Tour for 22 years since 1991. He won the CJ Invitational Hosted by KJ Choi and the 56th Kolon Korea Open. His compatriot in second in prize rankings, Ryu Hyun-woo, will attempt to catch up with Kang.

Andrew Tschudin of Australia is one of the strong favorites. He won the 2011 T’Way Air Open and the 2012 Queensland Championship on the PGA Tour of Australasia. An Jae-hyun of New Zealand is attracting attention as a golf prodigy who qualified for the New Zealand Open as the youngest entrant aged 14.

Herald Corp. has encouraged and nurtured talent in the Korean golf community. It has so far hosted an international golf tournament for middle and high school students from 1990-1992, a mid-amateur championship from 1993-2002, Farmax Open in 1990 and Lyle & Scott Ladies’ Open from 1989-1995.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)