South Korea's Bae Sang-moon has set his sights on successfully defending the 29th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship title when the tournament debuts on OneAsia next week.
The third leg of OneAsia will see Bae and the cream of Asian golf tee off at the challenging and "mountainous" Namseoul Country Club from May 6-9.
Kim Dae-sub, second behind Bae on the 2009 South Korean Tour Order of Merit will also aim to improve on his joint-third finish in last year's event. Kim has proven a strong match for Bae on several occasions, including OneAsia's inaugural Korean event at the Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open in 2009, where Bae eventually triumphed with a one-stroke victory.
Bae, considered one of the most exciting prospects in Asian golf, beat countryman Ted Oh in a playoff at Namseoul last year. Oh, 33, is also set to return to the tradition-laced GS Caltex Maekyung Open to challenge his compatriot to a rematch.
The GS Caltex Maekyung Open has been played at Namseoul Country Club on nine of the last 11 occasions and Bae feels at home on the rolling fairways. The victory tasted even sweeter when he won the final play-off which took him by surprise.
"It was great to win last year because it was my first time in a playoff," he said.
"The last hole is a very tough hole at Namseoul. It has difficult greens, narrow fairways and many out of bounds. But I played it well and drove straight down the middle. It was a great feeling to win," said Bae, who has topped the Korean Tour Order of Merit for the last two years.
Like the Masters, the winner of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open is rewarded with a Green Jacket and last year Bae became the fifth South Korean to slip it over his shoulders since American Mark Calcavecchia triumphed in 2004.
Hwang Inn-choon beat teen sensation Noh Seung-yul in a playoff in 2008 and a year earlier Kim Kyung-tae, the gold medallist at the 2006 Asian Games, showed his potential with a five-stroke victory over Chinese number one Liang Wenchong.
The GS Caltex Maekyung also includes a stellar list of South Korean players already excelling at OneAsia this year.
Winner of the Korean Tour's Tomato Savings Bank Open, Kim Do-hoon, shared third spot with his compatriot Kang Kyung-nam - a five time winner on the Korean Tour - in OneAsia's season opener, the Luxehills Chengdu Open. Kim followed up to become the halfway leader of the Volvo China Open, finally finishing in the Top 10. He is currently number 8 on the OneAsia Order of Merit.
OneAsia has witnessed several stirring performances from South Korean players this season with Kim Hyung-tae forcing a playoff with eventual winner Liang at the season-opening Luxehills Chengdu Open and Y.E. Yang, Asia's first Major champion, coming out on top at the star-studded Volvo China Open.