S. Korean Im Sung-jae becomes top-ranked Asian man in world golf rankings

South Korean golfer Im Sung-jae is now the highest-ranked Asian player on the men's world rankings. Im climbed two spots to reach a career-high No. 21 on the latest rankings released Monday. The rise came on the heels of Im's third consecutive top-10 finish on the PGA Tour at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Forth Worth, Texas. It was the first PGA tournament following a three-month pause caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Rankings had been frozen during the tour's hiatus. Im has jumped past

June 16, 2020

World No. 1 in women's golf commits to S. Korean major

Ko Jin-young, world No. 1 in women's golf, will play in a South Korean major championship next week. The organizers of the 34th Kia Motors Korea Women's Open Golf Championship announced Tuesday that Ko has committed to the second major tournament of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) season. It will run from June 18-21 at Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul. With the US LPGA Tour grounded during the coronavirus pandemic, Ko made her 2020 d

June 9, 2020

LPGA stars split winnings in charity skins game

South Korean LPGA stars Ko Jin-young and Park Sung-hyun split the prize money in their charity skins game Sunday. World No. 1 Ko and the third-ranked Park each claimed 50 million won ($40,300) in the skins game organized by Hyundai Card at Sky 72 Golf & Resort in Incheon, just west of Seoul. The winnings will be donated to charities of the players' choices. Ko made a lengthy birdie putt at the 18th hole to win 10 million won at stake there and pull even with Park. Before the match, the tw

May 24, 2020

LPGA stars to duel in charity skins game on Sunday

As names go in women's golf, it doesn't get much bigger than these two for South Korean fans: world No. 1 Ko Jin-young and No. 3 Park Sung-hyun. Ko and Park are scheduled to duel in a charity skins game on Sunday, giving local fans more to cheer about after they celebrated the return of the sport last week. Ko and Park will meet in the Hyundai Card Super Match at 2 p.m. Sunday at Sky 72 Golf & Resort, adjacent to Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul. Ko and Park, who have co

May 22, 2020

Sophomore player wins 1st golf tournament held during pandemic in S. Korea

YANGJU -- Second-year domestic tour pro Park Hyun-kyung has won the first golf tournament held in South Korea during the coronavirus pandemic. Park captured the 42nd Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Championship in Yangju, just north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday, at 17-under 271. By carding a 67 on Sunday at Lakewood Country Club, Park held off Bae Seon-woo and Lim Hee-jeong by one stroke for her first KLPGA victory and also her first KLPGA major championship. Pa

May 17, 2020

S. Korean men's national golf championship canceled for 1st time due to coronavirus

South Korea's national golf championship has been canceled for the first time in its history due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The Korea Golf Association (KGA) said Friday the 63rd Kolon Korea Open will not take place this year because of the recent virus situation in the country. South Korea has reported an uptick in daily virus cases in recent days following cluster infections in a nightlife district in Seoul. This is the first time that the organizers decided not to hold the presti

May 15, 2020

LPGA stars from S. Korea to meet in match play

Two of the biggest names in women's golf will go head-to-head in a skins match in South Korea this month. World No. 1 Ko Jin-young and world No. 3 Park Sung-hyun will meet in the "Hyundai Card Super Match" on May 24 at Sky 72 Golf & Resort, adjacent to Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul. Hyundai Card, the title sponsor of the event, said Wednesday it will be the first "Super Match" event in nine years. Hyundai Card launched the exhibition series with te

May 13, 2020

Golf to return in S. Korea with women's major championship this week

After more five months of inaction caused by the coronavirus pandemic, golf will finally return to South Korea this week. The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) will hold its first major of the season, the KLPGA Championship, starting Thursday at Lakewood Country Club in Yangju, just north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province. It's the first KLPGA tournament to take place on South Korean soil this season. The 2020 season began with the Hyosung Championship in Vietnam last December. I

May 12, 2020

Competition for Olympic spots on hold for S. Korean LPGA golfers

What promised to be a memorable duel for Olympic spots among South Korean LPGA stars has been put on hold with the announcement that the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games will be delayed to next year. The decision, jointly reached by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo's organizing committee late Tuesday, will resonate on different levels for a handful of South Korean Olympic hopefuls in women's golf. Those who were on a roll to start the season will likely feel frustrated to be stopped

March 25, 2020

S. Korean Im Sung-jae rises to No. 1 in FedEx Cup points after finishing 3rd at Bay Hill

What sophomore slump? Im Sung-jae, the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, climbed to the top of the FedEx Cup points standings following a third-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday (local time). The 21-year-old South Korean picked up his first PGA Tour victory the previous week at the Honda Classic. He was trying to become the first player since David Duval in 1997 to win his first two career titles in consecutive weeks, but finished two strokes be

March 9, 2020

S. Korean Im Sung-jae captures 1st PGA Tour title

South Korea's Im Sung-jae can finally call himself a PGA Tour winner. Im won the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on Sunday (local time), with a four-round total of six-under 274. He shot a four-under 66 in the final round to hold off Canadian Mackenzie Hughes by one stroke. Im, the 2018-2019 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, is the seventh South Korean to find the winner's circle on the tour. Im picked up $1.26 million for his win; he'd made just under $2 million in 12 tournaments t

March 2, 2020

S. Korea's Park In-bee captures 20th career LPGA win in Australia

South Korean star Park In-bee picked up her 20th career LPGA victory in Australia on Sunday, resuming her pursuit of an Olympic spot and a chance to defend her gold medal. The LPGA Hall of Famer captured the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open by three strokes over Amy Olson of the United States at 14-under par. Park shot an one-over in the final round at Royal Adelaide Golf Club in South Australia. She is the second straight South Korean champion this season, following Park Hee-young's victor

Feb. 16, 2020

S. Korean Park In-bee loses LPGA season opener in playoff

South Korea's Park In-bee has lost the LPGA season opener in a three-way playoff, falling just shy of ending her two-year winless drought.The LPGA Hall of Famer was eliminated in the third playoff hole at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on Sunday (local time), after pulling her tee shot into the water.Gaby Lopez of Mexico and Nasa Hataoka of Japan were still tied after five playoff holes, when play was suspended due to darkness.The two will be back at it

Jan. 20, 2020

Olympic champ Park grabs LPGA Tourney of Champions lead

MIAMI (AFP) -- Olympic champion Park In-bee of South Korea fired a four-under-par 67 to seize a two-stroke lead after Saturday's third round of the season-opening LPGA Tournament of Champions.Park had a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-3 18th hole to grab a four-shot lead but rolled the ball four feet past the cup and missed her comeback putt for her first bogey of the week to finish on 13-under 200 after 54 holes at Four Seasons Orlando. That left the 31-year-old from Seoul only two ahead of fift

Jan. 19, 2020

S. Korean rookie upsets reigning US Open champ in Presidents Cup singles

South Korean rookie Im Sung-jae defeated the reigning US Open champion Gary Woodland in the singles match at the Presidents Cup on Sunday, though Im's effort wasn't enough to get his International Team over the hump.Powered by a back-nine charge at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Im beat the American veteran 4 & 3 for his third win in five matches in his first Presidents Cup appearance.The biennial Presidents Cup pits a team of non-European international golfers against Americans in match play. A

Dec. 15, 2019

Woods sets Presidents Cup record, Americans make their move

MELBOURNE (AP) -- Tiger Woods set the Presidents Cup record for most victories and set the tone for his US team Sunday at Royal Melbourne.Woods seized control around the turn against Abraham Ancer and won, 3 and 2, in the first of 12 singles matches. The Americans need to win singles for the first time in 10 years to overcome a two-point deficit against the International team.Woods went 3-0 for the week as the first playing captain since Hale Irwin at the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994. His si

Dec. 15, 2019

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