Weekend picks

FOOTBALL

K-League Classic

Suwon Samsung Bluewings at Busan I’Park

7 p.m. Sunday, Busan Asiad Stadium

This will be the last match for the Suwon Samsung Bluewings forward Jong Tae-se in the K-League before he leaves for Japan’s Shimizu S-Pulse.

Jong, who was born in Japan to Korean parents and holds a North Korean passport, already bid adieu to his fans at home on Wednesday in a 1-0 victory over the Jeonnam Dragons.

The 31-year-old, who joined Suwon in 2013, has been the team’s spark plug this season, with six goals and five assists.

Suwon has won its last three matches and is in second place in the league, chasing the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors who are five points ahead of them. Without Jong, the team will have to rely more on midfielder Yeom Ki-hun, who is the league leader in assists with nine, and the forward Santos, who has six goals in 15 games.

Busan, which sits 11th in the league standings, is desperate to collect a win after losing its last five matches. The team has scored only 16 goals in 21 matches, tied for worst in the league with the bottom-dwelling Daejeon Citizen FC.

GOLF

KLPGA Tour

Chojung Sparkling Water-Yongpyong Resort Open

Friday-Sunday, Birch Hill Golf Club, Pyeongchang, Gangwon

This inaugural golf tournament is the season’s 15th event and will have 132 golfers vying for a 100-million-won ($88,000) winner’s prize.

Since the top two money leaders, Chun In-gee and Lee Jung-min, are not participating in the event, all eyes are on Ko Jin-young, who is third in prize money with two victories this season.

Chun and Lee are competing in the U.S. Women’s Open. Both have three wins on the Korean circuit and have claimed more than 500 million won each in prize money this season. A victory at Pyeongchang would move Ko, with 347 million won in prize money this season, closer to both of them in the leaders’ standings.

Along with Ko, the two-time KLPGA prize money leader Kim Ha-neul joins Bae Hee-kyung in returning from Japan to play in this event. Kim Min-sun, who has six top-10 finishes, including one win, is also considered a top contender.

VOLLEYBALL

KOVO Cup

Incheon Korean Air Jumbos vs. KB Insurance Stars

Saturday, 2 p.m., Cheongju Gymnasium

Before the regular V-League season begins, volleyball fans will have a chance to enjoy the sport in Cheongju, North Chungcheong. Now in its 10th season, the tournament will run until July 19 with eight teams in the men’s division and six teams in the women’s division playing in two groups each. Sangmu Shinhyup, a military men’s team, is an invited participant.

Three men’s teams have new coaches this season; the tournament may show some clues about the imprint that the new leaders are trying to put on their teams.

The opening game pits the Incheon Korean Air Jumbos against the KB Insurance Stars; the Stars were last year called the LIG Insurance Greaters.