2012.6.1 Weekend Picks

KBO

• Hanwha Eagles (16-27) at LG Twins (21-21)

• Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul

• Friday 6:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 5 p.m.

The bottom-cellar Eagles will look to fly up in the standings when they travel to Jamsil Stadium this weekend.

The Eagles are currently the No. 2 team in overall batting average but have the worst ERA in the league. Slugger Kim Taekyun, who is the only player in the KBO to have a batting average above 0.400, is leading the offense, but other sluggers will need step it up at the plate.

The Twins have beaten the Eagles four times and lost twice this season. With former Major League Baseball pitcher Bong Jung-keun back as their closer, the Seoul-based ball club’s bullpen should be more reliable in the upcoming series.

Both the Eagles and the Twins have committed more than 30 errors so far this season.
The Daejeon-based club is also the second-worst team in the league in terms of steals, statistics they will look to improve on this weekend.

Jamsil Baseball Stadium will feature various events for children during the three-game series. Havard University professor Michael Sandel, also known as the author of “Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?,” will throw the opening pitch on Sunday.

KGT

• 2012 Meritz Solmoro Open

• Solmoro Country Club, Yeoju, Gyeonggi

• Thursday to Sunday

This is the first event that the Korean Tour is exclusively hosting. All three previous events were either co-hosted with One Asia Tour or the European Tour.

The 156 golfers, including eight amateurs, entered the event yesterday. Sixty were featuring for the first time this season. They will compete for the winner’s purse of 100 million won ($85,000).

While Kang Kyung-nam is looking to defend his title, Hong Soon-sang, last year’s MVP in the Korea Professional Golf Association, and Park Sang-hyun, last years No. 2 in prize money earnings, are considered to be top contenders.

The 2010 champion Lee Seong-ho, renowned for his long drive off the tee; Kim Dae-hyun; and 39-year-old veteran Choi Ho-sung are also seen as potential dark horses. Entering its seventh year, the event has never seen a golfer win twice.