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After two years of waiting, Wooyoung Cho of South Korea can now finally call himself an Asian Tour champion.
Cho fired a final round five-under par 67 for a four-shot win to capture the Asian Tour’s season-opening tournament, the 2026 Philippine Golf Championship presented by the Philippine Sports Commission on Sunday, February 8 at the East Course of Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City.
The 24-year-old Cho, who turned professional back in 2024, raised his putter and pumped his fist when he buried a long putt from 20 feet that pushed his score at 11-under for a four-day total of 277.
“This is my first event ( to win that is) not in South Korea, (and this is) my first International event and it means so much to me,” said Cho, a two-time winner in the Korean pro golf tour whose next target is to play in the US.
“I think today is very good, (and what’s) difficult is the mental, my mental is not at its best, but what’s important is that I try to get better and better and better. I’m like okay just next, so that we can score a birdie,” added Cho.
The victory not only handed Cho the trophy, but more importantly, he took home the top prize money of $90,000 as the tournament offered a total of US$500,000 from the Asian Tour and the National Golf Association of the Philippines, the sport’s governing body in the country.
He was also handed an additional $10,000 from Wack Wack golf – led by its chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. – that is given to the player with the day’s lowest score. His 67 was his lowest after shooting 69, 70 and 71.
Cho started the final round tied for second to fifth places at four-under with Travis Smyth of Australia, Sarut Vongchaisit of Thailand, and Ian Snyman of South Africa, all two shots down behind leader Karandeep Kochhar of India.
Kochhar, however, started his final round with a double bogey on the par-four 1 of the event backed by Bingo Plus and the MVP Sports Foundation.
Cho opened his round with a miscue as he bogeyed on 1, but recovered with a birdie on 2 and 3. He also made birdies on 9, 10 and 14.
“The bogey is circumstantial, so if it really flies (far) away, then there’s the bogey. It really did hurt mentally, but I try to get better,” said Cho, who credited his caddie, Malaysia’s Adahlil Indiran, for helping him get through tough times. The two have been together for the second straight season of the Asian Tour.
Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand had a final round 70 and was seven-under for the tournament at 281, while Smyth finished at third place at 283. Kochhar finished fourth at 285. Keanu Jahns was the best Filipino finisher at 287 as he tied for 9th to 14th spots to earn $8,650.