[Newsmaker] S. Korean Chun In-gee wins 3rd career LPGA major

South Korean Chun In-gee has captured her third career LPGA major in Maryland, ending the country's drought in big tournaments at seven in the process. Chun won the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in wire-to-wire fashion, as she closed out her victory with a final round of 3-over 75 at the Congressional Country Club's Blue Course in Bethesda, Maryland, on Sunday (local time). At 5-under 283 for the championship, Chun beat Lexi Thompson of the United States and Minjee Lee of Australia by one stroke

June 27, 2022

S. Korean players to take another crack at snapping LPGA major-less skid this week

South Korean players' bid to snap a long winless skid at LPGA major championships will resume this week in Maryland, where the KPMG Women's PGA Championship will tee off Thursday. The Congressional Country Club's Blue Course in Bethesda, Maryland, will host the third major tournament of the 2022 season. The last South Korean champion of an LPGA major tournament is Kim A-lim from the 2020 U.S. Women's Open. Though the U.S. Women's Open is typically played in June, it was

June 22, 2022

Teenage golfer finishes as top S. Korean at US Open

Teenager Kim Joo-hyung has ended his first US Open as the highest-ranked South Korean player. Kim finished alone in 23rd place at the 122nd US Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Sunday (local time), with a four-round total of three-over 283. Kim, who turns 20 on Tuesday, traded three birdies with three bogeys for an even-par final round of 70. He had opened the third major of the season with a 72, and followed it up with 68 and 73. This was Kim's US Open debut. He had

June 20, 2022

S. Korea's lone LPGA tournament to switch venues every year

South Korea's only LPGA Tour event will be held at different courses each year starting this fall, the tournament organizers said Thursday, in a nod to major championships. BMW Korea said the third edition of the BMW Ladies Championship will be played Oct. 20-23 this year, but added it will announce the new venue at the end of June. The first two competitions were held at LPGA International Busan in Busan, some 325 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The event was inaugurated in 2019, but the 20

June 9, 2022

S. Korea's LPGA major winless skid reaches 7 at US Women's Open

South Korean players' winless streak at LPGA major tournaments has reached seven. Tour rookie Choi Hye-jin was the top South Korean player at the US Women's Open at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina, on Sunday (local time). She finished alone in third place at seven-under 277, six behind the champion from Australia, Minjee Lee. Choi had three birdies and two bogeys for a final round of one-under 70. World No. 1 from South Korea, Ko Jin-young, finished a s

June 6, 2022

S. Korean stars looking to end LPGA major drought at oldest championship

South Korean LPGA stars will seek to end the country's major championship drought this week at the oldest of the five big tournaments. Twenty-two players from South Korea will compete in the US Women's Open, which tees off Thursday at Pine Needles Lodge & Country Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. South Korea, long a dominant force in women's golf, has been shut out at the last six majors, the longest such drought since the country's golfers were denied at seven consecut

June 1, 2022

Ji Eun-hee captures 6th LPGA win in match-play tournament

South Korean veteran Ji Eun-hee has collected her sixth career LPGA victory at a match-play tournament in Las Vegas. Ji defeated Ayaka Furue of Japan 3&2 in the final of the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Sin City on Sunday (local time). Ji took home a winner's check of $225,000. The competition began with three days of round-robin action, followed by knockout matches on Saturday and Sunday. In the semifinals held earlier Sunday, Ji defeated Andrea Lee of the Un

May 30, 2022

S. Koreans out of contention at PGA Championship as Lee Kyoung-hoon ties for 41st

South Korea's Lee Kyoung-hoon tied for 41st place at the second major tournament of the men's golf season, finishing as the top player from the country. Lee shot a final round of two-over 72 at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Sunday (local time), for a four-day total of five-over 285. Lee hadn't made the cut at his five previous major appearances. This time, fresh off a win at the AT&T Byron Nelson the week prior, Lee opened with a solid

May 23, 2022

Family affair: Lee Kyoung-hoon celebrates 2nd career PGA Tour win in front of baby daughter, parents

On May 16, 2021, South Korean golfer Lee Kyoung-hoon picked up his first career PGA Tour title at AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas, with his pregnant wife, Yu Joo-yeon, watching. Almost exactly one year later, on Sunday, Lee defended his trophy at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas. This time, Lee did so with the newest member of his family, the 10-month-old daughter Celine Yu-na, and also his mother and father on hand. "It's an amazing feeling. It still feels like a dream," Lee, 30, sai

May 16, 2022

S. Korean Lee Kyoung-hoon defends PGA Tour title in Texas

South Korean Lee Kyoung-hoon has successfully defended a PGA Tour title in Texas, holding off former world No. 1 Jordan Spieth for his second career victory. Lee shot a bogey-free round of nine-under 63 in the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, on Sunday (local time). Lee's day featured seven birdies and an eagle. At 26-under 262, Lee beat Spieth by one stroke. Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, the 2021 Masters champion, was another stroke back at 24-under.

May 16, 2022

Im Sung-jae notches 2nd-career top-10 finish at Masters

Im Sung-jae tied for eighth place at the Masters on Sunday, earning his second-career top-10 finish at the season's first major championship following an up-and-down final round. Im shot a three-over 75 on Sunday to end up at one-over 287 overall at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, on Sunday (local time). Im ended up nine shots behind the winner, Scottie Scheffler of the United States, after recording six bogeys and three birdies. This was Im's worst score over four days at the fa

April 11, 2022

S. Korea's winless streak at LPGA majors reaches 6

South Korea's LPGA major championship drought has now reached six tournaments. Jennifer Kupcho of the United States enjoyed a two-shot victory at the Chevron Championship, after shooting 14-under 274 at Mission Hills Country Club's Dinah Shore Tournament Course in Rancho Mirage, California, on Sunday (local time). Kim Hyo-joo was the highest-ranked South Korea, as she tied for eighth place at eight-under 280. Rookie Choi Hye-jin and 12-time winner Kim Sei-young were next. They tied for 17th at f

April 4, 2022

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young seeking 3rd career LPGA major in California

Ko Jin-young, world No. 1 in women's golf from South Korea, will be California dreaming this week, as she chases her third career LPGA major title. Ko, the reigning LPGA Player of the Year and money leader, will be among the favorites to capture the Chevron Championship, which starts Thursday (local time) at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course of Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. Ko won this tournament in 2019, and this will be the final time the event will take place at M

March 30, 2022

S. Korean rookie An Narin comes up shy of maiden LPGA win

South Korean rookie An Narin will have to wait for at least another tournament for her maiden LPGA title, after just missing the playoff in her third start of the season. An finished the JTBC Classic in third place at 15-under 273 at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California, on Sunday (local time). She ended up one shot out of the playoff between Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark and Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand. An, a former Korean tour player, won the LPGA qualifying tournament in December to ea

March 28, 2022

Teen wins KYGA youth golf tournament

Hyunkyung Jeong, an 11th grader at the Chadwick International School, has won the KYGA 17th Ballon Blanc National Youth Golf Tournament hosted by the Korea Youth Golf Association last week. Jeong, also known as Ellena, ranked first with a 1-under par in the tournament held at the Baekje Country Club in South Chungcheong Province on March 14-15. Her win is more meaningful considering she had pulled through windy and foggy weather conditions during the tournament, the association said. Jeong

March 20, 2022

World rankings to determine S. Korean golf teams at Asian Games

With professionals allowed in the Asian Games golf tournament for the first time this year, South Korea will use world ranking positions to pick its pros for the competition. The Korea Golf Association (KGA) said Thursday that amateur spots will be filled through trials scheduled for next month. At the Sept. 10-25 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, the men's golf tournament will feature four players per team for men and three players per side for women. The KGA had announced in January that the m

Feb. 24, 2022

PGA Tour's Im Sung-jae looking to crack top 20 in world rankings in 2022

At No. 26, Im Sung-jae is the top South Korean in the men's world golf rankings. And the two-time PGA Tour winner wants to move even higher in the new year. "I will try to take it step by step and stay inside the top 20," Im said Wednesday in an online interview with South Korean media. He is in Hawaii to prepare for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which starts Thursday, as the first event of 2022. Im reached a career-high 16th in the rankings in February last year but dropped to

Jan. 5, 2022

LPGA Player of the Year Ko Jin-young hungry for more glory

After just four seasons on the LPGA Tour, South Korean star Ko Jin-young has already accomplished more than what most other golfers would love to achieve in their entire careers. But Ko, 26, isn't yet satisfied. In a Zoom press conference with the South Korean media Monday, Ko said she feels she still has so much room for improvement. If Ko can somehow get better after an outstanding 2021 season, in which she won the Player of the Year award and the money title thanks to a tour-best five vict

Dec. 27, 2021

S. Korean An Narin wins LPGA qualifying tournament

South Korean golfer An Narin has captured her LPGA Tour card with a flourish, winning the grueling qualifying tournament by shooting the best score in the field on the final day. An finished in first place at the LPGA Q-Series, an eight-round marathon that wrapped up at Highland Oaks Golf Club in Dothan, Alabama, on Sunday (local time). An, a two-time Korea LPGA (KLPGA) winner, carded a six-under 66, with seven birdies against one bogey, in the final round to finish at 33-under 541 overall. Th

Dec. 13, 2021

KLPGA star Choi Hye-in among 5 S. Koreans to survive 1st cut in LPGA qualifying event

South Korean tour star Choi Hye-jin has made the initial cut at the LPGA Tour's qualifying tournament in Alabama. Choi, a three-time Korea LPGA (KLPGA) Tour Player of the Year, was one of five South Koreans to finish inside the top 70 and ties after the first phase of the LPGA Q-Series concluded in Mobile, Alabama, on Sunday (local time). After the first 72 holes, Choi is in second place at 17-under 269, two strokes back of Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of France. Another KLPGA player, An Narin, i

Dec. 6, 2021