Park Nam-shin (64), who was called the “master of irons,” played on the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour in the 1980s and 1990s, winning 20 domestic games and one overseas.
He was a ‘Go Onion’ who took professional lessons at the New Korea Country Club (CC) in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and a representative player of Son Heung-soo’s ‘Banpo Division’, who served as the New Korea CC head pro. He is ranked second in the Korean Tour career multiplier after Choi Sang-ho.
After taking the pro test 10 times, I passed it with difficulty in December 1982 (TP 1982-0084). His first victory was achieved at the 3rd Phantom Open held at Gyeongju Chosun CC in 1986, 4 years after his professional debut.
The following year, as he won the Kwaenam Open, he developed a presence as a key player on the tour. In 1988, Choi Sang-ho, who was considered the number one player on the tour, won two wins at the Donghae Open and the Kwaenam Open to become the prize money king.
Winner of the 1997 Cambridge Members Open. [Picture = KPGA]
In 1990, he won two wins in the Cambridge Open and Champion Series, but finished third in prize money after Lee Kang-seon and Choi Sang-ho, who won three seasons. He was 3rd in 91 without a win and 2nd in money in 92 with a Phantom Open win. In 1993, he returned to the prize money category with 3 wins (Maekyung Open, Phantom Open, Champion Series) and at the same time broke the prize money of 100 million won (107.24 million won) for the first time.
Park Nam-shin was not a long hitter, but he was excellent as a shot maker with excellent iron shots and close to the pins. However, he participated in the US World Cup at the end of 1993 with Lee Kang-sun, but was disqualified due to incorrect scores and returned. For this incident, he received a severe disposition from the KPGA of indefinite suspension of qualifications.
A year later, the disciplinary action was lifted and he returned to the tour in 1995, winning the KPGA championship and winning the prize money of 112.68 million won, breaking his season’s highest prize money record. He also won overseas championships by winning the Thai International, an Asian circuit.
For three years from 1997 to 1999, he maintained second place in season prize money while adding five wins, including three consecutive wins in the SBS Pro Golf Championship. He won two victories in 2000, but suffered severe head and ankle injuries in a motorcycle hit-and-run accident at the end of the year, and his grades went downhill.
In 2000, he won 18 victories at the Honam Open.안전놀이터
Veteran Park Nam-shin went to the year-end qualifying school for the first time since his debut and received the right to participate, but the sluggishness seemed to be prolonged as he was eliminated from the preliminaries at SBS Tomato Savings Bank, the first tournament of the 2007 season. However, in June, at the Kumho Asiana Open held at Asiana CC, which is famous for its difficult course, he achieved his 20th win in 7 years since the SK Telecom Classic in 2000.
48-year-old Park Nam-shin shot a 5-under-par 67 in the second round of the tournament and went into overtime against 24-year-old Kang Kyung-nam, the previous year’s money king. In the first hole of the extension on the 18th hole, when Kang Gyeong-nam made a bogey with an unreasonable attack, he put a bold yet calm approach to the green from the edge and succeeded in putting a 3m par to win the championship. In an interview, he said, “I am more than happy to announce that Kwan-rok-pa is alive and well on the Korean stage.”
After retiring from the regular tour, he entered the Champions Tour and won three wins, starting with the Senior Masters in 2009, two Volbig Cup Champions in 2010, and the Grand CC Cup KPGA Senior Open in 2013.