Korea's Yang Ji-ho won the title in Japan in 2023, and Japan's Takashi Ogiso won the title in Korea in 2024. Who will win the honor of the Hana Bank Invitational (total prize money of 1.3 billion won, total prize money of 260 million won), co-hosted by the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Tour and the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO). The championship will be held at The Heaven Country Club (par 72, 7,293 yards) in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province for four days from July 12. A total of 144 players, including KPGA Tour and JGTO seed priority, will participate, of which 75 are Korean and 55 are Japanese.
"Golf Lee Do-ryu" Kim Hong-taek, who won last week's Baeksong Holdings Asiad CC Busan Open, will try to win for the second consecutive week. Kim Hong-taek, who has made up for his slump in the beginning of the season by winning both the screen golf tournament and the KPGA Tour over the past two weeks, vowed, "I'm not satisfied with this, and I'll continue the good trend and try to win the Hana Bank Invitational."
"I'm looking forward to playing in Korea because I won my first championship in Korea," said Oh Ki-so, who beat Jang Yoo-bin by one stroke last year. "I'm in good condition, and I'll do my best to compete for the championship in this tournament." Genesis point No. 1 Kim Baek-joon, Taehoon Lee, Moon Do-yeop, Bae Yong-joon and Um Jae-woong are aiming for their first two wins of the season.
A large number of top Japanese players, including Tatsunori Shogenji (Japan), the JGTO season's prize money leader, and Kazuki Higa, who won six games in total, will participate. Taehoon Lee, Moon Do-yeop, Kim Baek-joon, Um Jae-woong, and Ok Tae-hoon, who are ranked second to sixth in the prize money rankings, can become the top prize money if they receive 260 million won in prize money for the championship. Lee Seung-min, a professional golfer with developmental disabilities sponsored by Hana Financial Group, the tournament's title sponsor, and Ahn Sung-hyun, an amateur national team, are also on the list of participants. Hana Financial Group plans to donate 10 million won through "Matching Grant Donation," which will donate the same amount if the participants donate 1 percent of the prize money, and will spend up to 256 million won on subsidies for the underprivileged in Ansan City.
The poster for the 2025 Hana Bank Invitational Tournament.
The following is the official press conference of key players participating in the Hana Bank Invitational.바카라
Q. (Common question) How do you feel and how do you feel about participating in the Hana Bank Invitational?
Higa Kazuki= This is the first course to play. Namchuncheon Country Club, where the Hana Bank Invitational was held in 2024, was also in good condition, but this year's The Heaven Country Club is also in great condition. The green is really difficult and the par 3 holes are long. I will carefully hit every shot so that I can compete for the championship.
Park Sang-hyun = The Hana Bank Invitational was held in a new course this year, and sophistication is the important course. I think it may be a course that suits me well. The course management is also very well done. This year, it will be held jointly with the Japanese tour, and many Japanese players I know participated, so I will try to play well together by competing well.
Takashi Ogiso = I have high expectations for participating again in the Hana Bank Invitational, which won its first championship last year. The 68th KPGA Championship with A-ONE CC, which will take place next week, will also take part in a row. Looking back at the course, the curves and slopes are severe, and shot accuracy seems to be really important. Since I think I have improved a lot right now, I will repay you with good results.
Ham Jung-woo= I'm happy to participate in the main sponsor competition. I want to take over the good mood and play well. It will be held jointly with the Japanese tour, and I want to win and be seeded in the Japanese tour.
Shogenji Tatsunori= I went around the course today and the condition of the course is good. The slope of the green is difficult and really challenging. I think it will be more interesting because many players will try to make 2 on aggressive attempts at the par-5 hole. I will try my best to show good results in this competition.
Moon Do-yeop = The course will be changed to The Heaven Country Club this year, and it will be more fun. The course setup is also in great condition. I think it will be a more exciting competition. I will do well and play well.
Q. What do you think must be overcome in this course (for all participants)?
Moon Do-yeop = When the main competition begins, the green is expected to become stronger than now. As such, iron shots need sophisticated techniques to create chances. The fairway is also quite narrow. Tea shots also require sophistication to protect the fairway.
Shogenji Tatsunori=Put is likely to be the key. It is a difficult course to target the pin directly. I think I have to make a birdie when I have a chance by targeting the wide green area.
Ham Jung-woo = In any course, but especially in this course, it is difficult to target pins in rough. Since there are many par-5 holes that are relatively short, aggressive play is likely to be required. The key will be who will reduce the score more at the par-5 hole.
Ogiso Takashi= There are many places with high slopes in the course. I think avoiding the slope will be the focus on score management. I think we need to create a birdie opportunity by making sophisticated shots in the long game.
Park Sang-hyun = This course is really difficult to match the distance in rough. Since the course is not very long, I think it is important to keep the fairway and show accurate shots. Rather than aggressively attacking, I will do my best without overdoing it.
Kazuki Higa = I have nothing to say because all the players ahead of me told me. (Laughs) If you fall in love with rough, it is a very difficult course to hit the pin. How much you keep the fairway and how you keep the flow to within two putts when you have long-distance putts remaining will be important.
Q. (To Korean players) Last year, a Japanese player won the title and lost the title of the competition. What kind of resolution are you making to take away the title this year?
Moon Do-yeop = Unfortunately lost the title to a Japanese player last year.