Is 2021 the Year of Korean Golf?
Originally published on FightingStripes.com on Feb. 10, 2021. Written by Michael Welch.
Let's start with a little game: raise your hand if you're Korean and a member of your family plays golf. I would venture to guess that a huge amount of hands went in the air, including my own. One of my earliest memories of golf is hitting pitch shots over the creek from my haraboji's backyard to the golf course. They lived right next to the golf course, collected errant tee shots, and let us learn golf right in the backyard.
These kinds of stories are commonplace for Korean families around the globe. We have an obsession with the solitary game of golf. It's a game that demands a dedication to practice and mental strength, something Koreans always pride themselves on. South Korea is now littered with compact golf ranges that contain floors and floors of hitting bays, perfect for young golfers training for the pro tours. Most of these ranges have limited space, so they're surrounded by nets to prevent errant balls from getting out. Some are even built directly above the parking lots. It's all the byproduct of a country trying to keep up with the demand for golf, whether it's parents hoping to see their children make it to the pro tours or the average office worker looking for a way to let off steam after work.
Especially on the LPGA Tour, South Korea has provided an influx of talent that continually competes at the highest levels. Following in the footsteps of the great Se Ri Pak, the first South Korean on the LPGA Tour in 1998, the world's best female golfers are now hailing from South Korea. On the hyper-competitive PGA Tour, a generation of young Koreans are stepping up to make themselves heard as well.
2020 was a surreal year for all, filled with pandemic worries and changed routines. One place people found refuge was the golf course; the National Golf Foundation reported that in the US alone there were 50 million more rounds played in 2020 compared to 2019. Simply put, golf was a way to safely get fresh air and exercise while being able to remain socially distanced from others. I know I enjoyed my rounds outside (with a mask or not) and the chance to see family on the course.
For the Korean professional golfers, even in a pandemic-shortened season, 2020 was especially fruitful. On the LPGA Tour, 3 of the 4 majors were won by Koreans. On the PGA Tour, Sungjae Im announced himself to the golf world with a runner-up finish at the Masters, the best ever finish by a Korean.
Let's break down the dominance of the LPGA Tour by Koreans since Se Ri Pak became the first ever Korean to win a women's major. Since 2011, at least one Korean has won a major championship each year and in 2015 and 2017, 4 of the 5 majors were claimed by golfers with Korean heritage. Right now, 7 of the top 10 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings are of Korean heritage. Since 2014, all of the winners of the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year award have been of Korean heritage, with Kiwi Korean Lydia Ko beginning this run of dominance at the age of 17. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, golf made its return to the Games and Koreans won Gold and Silver, with Inbee Park taking the Gold and Lydia Ko finishing runner-up. The accolades could continue on and on, so we'll stop here. Actually, let me do one more.
The Korean players making the jump from the Korean LPGA to the LPGA Tour recently have been so confident in their talents that they've skipped Q School. On the LPGA Tour, there are 3 ways to earn your membership. You can play on the minor Symetra Tour and earn enough money to gain membership, qualify via the Q School tournament, or simply win an LPGA Tour event. Players like Jinyoung Ko, Sunghyun Park, and now A Lim Kim have all won events on the LPGA Tour to earn membership.
The 2020 season on the LPGA was interrupted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, with only 19 events completed. When the tour restarted in July, it was Korean-American Danielle Kang, who learned golf at those same Korean driving ranges while waiting for her dad to finish work, that won back to back events. In the majors, Mirim Lee won the ANA Inspiration, Seiyoung Kim dominated the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, and A Lim Kim grabbed the US Women's Open. In that photo above, you can see that A Lim played the entire tournament wearing a mask. She would say that she felt concerned about the caddies and competitors catching the virus from her so she elected to play with her mask on.
At the year end CME Group Tour Championship, World No. 1 Jinyoung Ko took home the title despite only playing 3 events on the LPGA Tour all season. During the pandemic, Jinyoung had opted to stay in Korea and played on the KLPGA Tour, only returning to the US one month before the end of the season. Her results in the 3 tournaments she played were so good that she was able to earn enough points to qualify for the Tour Championship as one of the top 70 LPGA players.
Over on the men's PGA Tour, the past few months have seen an emergence of a cohort of Korean players that can make noise on the hyper-competitive tour. Over the past few years, one of the most consistently good players has been Sungjae Im. After winning 2018 Player of the Year on the Korn Ferry Tour, he made the step up to the PGA Tour and won 2018-2019 Rookie of the Year. Sungjae was a machine on tour that year, playing 18 more rounds than his nearest competitor and leading the tour in starts made and cuts made. He even became just the 13th rookie to qualify for the Tour Championship through the Fedex Cup Playoffs (top 30 only), and finished 19th at the event. In 2020, he won the Honda Classic before the pandemic shut down the tour, and then finished 5 strokes behind Dustin Johnson for runner-up at the Masters.
Another of the young Koreans taking on the PGA Tour is Siwoo Kim, who just recently won The American Express, notching his 3rd PGA Tour win. Though the past few years have seen a loss of form, Siwoo still remains as the youngest ever winner of The Players Championship, at 21 years old in 2017. With his win in January, Siwoo joined an exclusive club:
Just within 2021, we've seen two other strong performances by Korean golfers. Kevin Na, who's now won 4 times since 2018, picked up the title at the Sony Open. Just this past weekend, Kyunghoon Lee picked up a runner-up finish at the WM Phoenix Open, bested by Brooks Koepka.
2021 looks to possibly be a banner year for Korean golfers. With the Olympics approaching, it looks to be an extremely competitive race to represent Korea in Tokyo. Sungjae Im will certainly be headed to Tokyo as the highest-ranked Korean, with Siwoo Kim currently leading the race to join him as the second Korean in the field of 60 (Ben An and Sung Kang are in the mix too). Representing Korea at the Olympics takes on extra meaning as a medal will mean military exemption. Both Sungjae Im and Siwoo Kim are under 28 and know their time to serve will come without a medal (see Sangmoon Bae's struggles as an example).
On the women's side, it will be incredibly competitive for Korean players to make the field. Olympic rules allow the top 15 in the world automatic qualification, but only 4 players from one country are allowed. With 7 Koreans ranked in the top 15, something's got to give. Right now Korea will be represented by Jinyoung Ko, Seiyoung Kim, Inbee Park, and Hyojoo Kim. On the bubble? Two-time major winner Sunghyun Park, 2019 US Women's Open winner Jeongeun Lee6, and two-time major winner Soyeon Ryu. With the addition of Danielle Kang (USA), Minjee Lee (AUS), and Lydia Ko (NZ), there will be 7 Koreans at the Olympics. Can they do one better than in 2016 and sweep the medal stand?
Some other questions I'm asking about 2021 golf: will Lydia Ko finally earn her first win since 2018 and comeback to the top of the game?(2022 Update: She won the 2021 Lotte Championship) Will Minjee Lee finally claim a major championship? (2022 Update: She won the 2021 Evian Championship) Will all of the women's major winners be Korean? (2022 Update: Minjee Lee was the only Korean major winner) Could Minwoo Lee possibly join his sister in Tokyo? (2022 Update: This was a long shot that never happened)
If you want all the news on Korean golf, follow our Twitter handle @fightingstripes and the comprehensive @koreangolfnews on IG. You won't regret it because it's very likely that Koreans will dominate this sport again in 2021.