Jiho Yang had endured a horrible Sunday at the KPGA Tour's Founders Cup earlier this month, finishing in a tie for 17th after playing the fourth round in the final group.
The World No.1019 faced a four-hour drive home knowing he was lined up to play in the Korea Open's qualifying event the very next day. Yang didn't really want to go at first.
He "seriously debated" taking the week off to recalibrate, only for his wife to insist he travelled and even organized a driver to take him.
The 41-year-old ended up earning a spot at the Korea Open - among the national opens which form The Open Championship's Qualifying Series - thanks to a top-20 result and has just achieved one of the more unlikely victories in pro golf this year.
"If she hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be standing here right now,” Yang told the Asian Tour on Sunday.
Jiho Yang is heading to The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in July!The South Korean won the Asian Tour's Korea Open by four strokes this week to pick up the lone spot in the latest Open Qualifying Series event. He also became the first pre-qualifier ever to win this… pic.twitter.com/1R76lJS8ekMay 24, 2026
Yang was reflecting on one of the wildest weeks of his life after completing a wire-to-wire win at the KOLON Korea Open, making history in the process by becoming the first-ever pre-qualifying champion in the tournament's 68-year history.
As if the uncertainty on entering in the first place, the extraordinarily high world-ranking position and only two previous career wins as a professional on the KPGA Tour wasn't enough, Yang won by four strokes at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club. And he shot a final-round score of five-over (76).
Yang had begun his triumphant week with rounds of 65, 67 and 67 and woke up on Sunday seven strokes ahead of his nearest competitor.
But with only four players out of the 60 who made the cut able to shoot an under-par score in the closing round, a day which contained seven bogeys (three of which arrived between the 16th and 18th) and just two birdies never put Yang in any danger, and he was able to celebrate the biggest win of his life.
Reacting immediately after, Yang - who will make his Open Championship debut at Royal Birkdale in July - said: “It’s finally over!”
“And I think I can finally eat. I was so nervous this week, and I felt like I was throwing up without eating anything all day. I think I’ve had about eight bananas today and that’s it. I think I’m ready for a good night sleep tonight.”
He may need to savor such an activity as Yang and his wife - who had regularly served as his caddie, including for both KPGA Tour wins - are expecting a baby very soon.
On Saturday, Yang had already shared why he's so thankful for the support of his wife and expressed how the next chapter of their lives is serving him so well right now.
Yang said: "My wife has been talking a lot about ‘Mureogi’ [the baby’s nickname]. I give everything I have knowing my wife and Mureogi are with me.
"My wife never made big demands. Obviously, some things were tough because she wasn’t a professional caddie, but she is absolutely incredible for my mental game. That’s why we were able to win twice together."
Yang finished on nine-under for the championship ahead of Sweden's Charlie Lindh, who secured his best result on the Asian Tour in solo second.
The South Korean pair of Jeunghun Wang and Sangmoon Bae finished on four-under in a share of third while LIV Golf's Abraham Ancer and another South Korean in Chanwoo Kim ended T5th on three-under.
The Asian Tour will take a week off before a two-week stretch of events in Morocco during June - one of which is the latest International Series tournament.
