2 S. Korean rookies victorious in Presidents Cup debuts

MELBOURNE -- Two South Korean rookies earned a victory apiece on the opening day of the Presidents Cup golf competition here on Thursday, as the International Team jumped out to a surprising 4-1 lead over the heavily favored United States.Im Sung-jae teamed up with Adam Hadwin of Canada to defeat Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele 1-up in the second four-ball match of the day at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.Right behind them, An Byeong-hun and Adam Scott of Australia beat Tony Finau and Bryson D

Dec. 12, 2019

S. Korean An Byeong-hun determined to make most of new opportunity at Presidents Cup

MELBOURNE -- As a last-minute addition to the International Team at this week's Presidents Cup, South Korean golfer An Byeong-hun said Tuesday he is keen on capitalizing on his second chance.An was named as an injury replacement for Jason Day of Australia on Nov. 30, as International captain Ernie Els went with the South Korean just weeks after leaving him off the team.The Presidents Cup pits a team of a dozen non-European international players against the United States. This year's competition

Dec. 10, 2019

S. Korean Kim Sei-young wins LPGA season finale, hits $1.5m jackpot

South Korea's Kim Sei-young has captured the final tournament of the 2019 LPGA season, for her third title of the year and 10th of her career, hitting the jackpot with the largest purse in women's golf history.With a lengthy birdie putt on the 72nd hole, Kim completed a wire-to-wire victory at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, on Sunday (local time). The finishing birdie gave Kim a final round of two-under 70 for a four-day total of 18-under 280, one better than Charley Hull of

Nov. 25, 2019

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young goes for rare LPGA awards sweep in season finale

As the 2019 LPGA Tour season winds down, South Korean star Ko Jin-young will chase a rare sweep of major individual awards.Ko will tee off at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, on Thursday (local time) as the No. 1 female player in the world.She has already clinched the LPGA Player of the Year award and also the Annika Major Award, given to the player with the best overall record at major tournaments each season. Ko won two of the five LPGA majors in 2019 and leads

Nov. 19, 2019

'It's crazy': Tiger Woods secures record 82nd US PGA Tour win in Japan

INZAI (AFP) -- Tiger Woods said it was "crazy"  after he made golfing history Monday by holding off the challenge of home favourite Hideki Matsuyama to win the weather-delayed Zozo Championship by three shots.The 15-time major winner Woods finished 19-under par to equal US legend Sam Snead's all-time record of 82 US PGA Tour victories set 54 years ago.Woods, in his first outing since arthroscopic knee surgery two months ago, broke into a huge smile after he safely got up and down

Oct. 28, 2019

US golfer Gillman gets 1st hole-in-one at LPGA event in S. Korea

Standing on the tee at the 180-yard, par-3 13th hole during the second round of the BMW Ladies Championship on Friday, all Kristen Gillman wanted to do was hit a high shot into the wind and let the ball land softly on the green. It didn't just drop on the green. The ball went into the hole for the American's golfer's first ace ever.And with that hole-in-one, the 22-year-old American LPGA golfer also won a luxury, BMW 7 Series sedan."I was in between my 5- and 4-hybrid, and I was like, 'I'm

Oct. 25, 2019

PGA Tour Rookie of the Year picked by fellow S. Koreans as favorite to win at home

SEOGWIPO -- With the PGA Tour making its annual stop in South Korea's Jeju Island this week, hometown hero Im Sung-jae was picked by his countrymen Tuesday as the title favorite.Im will be one of six full-time PGA Tour players from South Korea in the field at the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges. The 72-hole, no-cut tournament with $9.75 million at stake starts Thursday at the Club at Nine Bridges.The 21-year-old was voted by his peers as the 2018-2019 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year last month, becoming the f

Oct. 15, 2019

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young headlines field at lone LPGA stop in S. Korea

Ko Jin-young, the world No. 1 in women's golf from South Korea, will headline an 80-player field at an upcoming LPGA Tour event in her native country.Organizers of the inaugural BMW Ladies Championship on Monday announced the list of players to compete at the LPGA International Busan in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from Oct. 24-27.Ko, who also leads the LPGA Tour in money, scoring average and the Player of the Year points in 2019, will be one of 50 LPGA members in the field, to be j

Oct. 14, 2019

Current, former world No. 1s in men's golf to compete in S. Korea this week

How often do you get to see the likes of Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Gary Woodland, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia in the same field in South Korea?How about once a year?The PGA Tour will make its lone annual stop this week on the resort island of Jeju, where the Club at Nine Bridges will host the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges from Thursday to Sunday. The no-cut event will be the sixth tournament of the 2019-2020 season.Koepka is the biggest name in the field of 78 at the $9.75 millio

Oct. 14, 2019

Hur Mi-jung captures 2nd LPGA win of season in Indiana

After going nearly five years without an LPGA victory, South Korean Hur Mi-jung has won twice in 2019.Hur's second title of the season came at the Indy Women in Tech Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday (local time). The 29-year-old enjoyed a wire-to-wire victory at Brickyard Crossing Golf Club, where she fired a four-round total of 21-under 267 to beat Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Norway by four strokes and take home $300,000. Hur won the Ladies Scottish Open in August to snap a title dr

Sept. 30, 2019

S. Korean Im Sung-jae loses in playoff on PGA Tour

South Korean Im Sung-jae has just missed out on his first career PGA Tour victory.Im lost to Sebastian Munoz in a sudden-death playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday (local time), settling for his first runner-up finish instead. Im, the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, started the final round in fifth place, four shots behind Munoz. The South Korean picked up five birdies on the front nine and three more down the stretch for a round of 66 to force a p

Sept. 23, 2019

Sorenstam, Park win foursome competition at exhibition golf event

The team of Annika Sorenstam and Park Sung-hyun won the foursome competition at an exhibition match featuring LPGA stars from the past and present.Sorenstam-Park combined to shoot 2-over 74 at the Seolhaeone·Cell Return Legends Match golf event Saturday at Seolhaeone Resort's Salmon and Seaview Courses in Yangyang, 215 kilometers east of Seoul in Gangwon Province. Sorenstam, a 72-time LPGA champion from Sweden, was part of the "LPGA Legends" team, which included fellow World Gol

Sept. 21, 2019

Current LPGA stars thank legends for inspiration

When Park Sung-hyun was a young girl aspiring to become a professional golfer, she got an autograph from South Korean golf icon Pak Se-ri. Park laminated that sheet of paper and posted it on her bedroom wall, hoping to one day make it to the LPGA Tour like Pak did. And this weekend, Park will get to walk on the same fairways as Park at an exhibition match play event, along with other LPGA legends that she grew up idolizing.Park is a member of the "Next Generation" team at the Seolhaeon

Sept. 21, 2019

Biggest names in women's golf to meet in S. Korea for exhibition match

A who's who in women's golf will descend on an east coast town in South Korea for a weekend of an exhibition match, giving fans in the golf-crazed nation a rare opportunity to see stars from the past and present.Seolhaeone Resort in Yangyang, about 215 kilometers east of Seoul in Gangwon Province, will host the Seolhaeone Legends Match on Saturday and Sunday, featuring four World Golf Hall of Famers and four active players on their own path to the sport's shrine.Headlining the star-studded roste

Sept. 19, 2019

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young picks up 4th LPGA win of '19 in Canada

By now, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Ko Jin-young is the best female golfer in the world today.Ko, world No. 1 since July 29, dominated the field to capture the CP Women's Open in Aurora, Canada, on Sunday (local time), for her fourth LPGA victory of the year. With a bogey-free round of eight-under 64, Ko finished at 26-under 262, beating Nicole Broch Larsen of Denmark by five strokes at Magna Golf Club.Ko, a sophomore with six career LPGA titles, didn't commit a bogey all week

Aug. 26, 2019

S. Korean Hur Mi-jung wins Ladies Scottish Open

South Korean Hur Mi-jung has captured the Ladies Scottish Open in her third LPGA win in five years.The 29-year-old shot a 20-under 264 to win the four-round tournament on Sunday (local time). Hur shot a five-under 66 on the last day to edge out Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn and South Korean Lee Jeong-eun, who tied for second place, at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick in Scotland.The win was Hur's third career title on the LPGA Tour.She picked up a check for $225,000. (Yonhap)

Aug. 12, 2019

Phil Mickelson commits to S. Korea's lone PGA Tour event

Five-time major champion Phil Mickelson has committed to playing in the lone PGA Tour stop in South Korea this fall.Mickelson, who ranks ninth all time with 44 PGA Tour wins, will play at the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges from Oct. 17-20 at the Club at Nine Bridges on the resort island of Jeju, the local tournament organizers announced Tuesday. This will be Mickelson's first appearance in South Korea since the Presidents Cup held in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, in Oct. 2015. The American star t

Aug. 6, 2019

S. Korean An Byeong-hun finishes 2 shots short of 1st PGA win

Hurt by wayward tee shots down the stretch, South Korean An Byeong-hun has come up two strokes short of his first PGA Tour title.An finished alone in third place at the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Sunday (local time), after a final round of 67 at the par-70 course. He shot a 20-under 260 for four days, two behind the champion, JT Poston.An led after each of the first three rounds, and took a one-stroke advantage over Webb Simpson and Brice Ga

Aug. 5, 2019

[Newsmaker] S. Korean Ko Jin-young wins Evian Championship for 2nd career LPGA major

South Korean Ko Jin-young has captured the Evian Championship for her second career LPGA major title, booking a return to the top of the world rankings in the process.Ko won the fourth major tournament of the 2019 season at 15-under 269 at the par-71 Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Sunday, beating three players, including fellow Korean Kim Hyo-joo, by two strokes.Jennifer Kupcho of the United States and Feng Shanshan of China also finished at 13-under.This is Ko's fifth LPG

July 29, 2019

Golf-Korean duo An and Park on the rise at British Open

South Korea's An Byeong-hun roared up the British Open leaderboard as he picked up three strokes by the halfway stage of his third round on Saturday.With the leading pairs still to tee off on a pleasant day on the Antrim coast, An made headway as he got himself to five under, just three off the lead held jointly by Ireland's Shane Lowry and American J.B. Holmes.An, who carded a four-under 67 on Friday, gathered birdies at the second, fourth, fifth and eighth to jump 20 places up the leaderboard

July 21, 2019