Surprise LPGA major champion working on long game in pursuit of 2nd big win

South Korean LPGA player Lee Mi-rim chipped and putted her way to a stunning major title last month, and ahead of another major tournament this week, she has been working on her long game. Lee is entering the KPGA Women's PGA Championship, set to open at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on Thursday (local time), as a player to watch. She won the ANA Inspiration in a playoff last month for her first career LPGA major title, and she chipped in for two birdies and an eagle in

Oct. 7, 2020

'Nervous' Park Sung-hyun among dozen S. Koreans in field for LPGA season's 2nd major

World No. 4 Park Sung-hyun will headline a contingent of 12 South Korean players at the second major championship of the 2020 LPGA season this week. Park will make her season debut at the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, starting Thursday. She will tee off with Nasa Hataoka at 1:18 p.m. Thursday local time, or 5:18 a.m. Friday in Seoul. The 2020 season began in January with two tournaments in Florida. The tour moved to Australia for two more events,

Sept. 9, 2020

Im Sung-jae barely misses top 10 in PGA Tour season finale

South Korean youngster Im Sung-jae has wrapped up his second PGA Tour season with an up-and-down round. Im shot an even-par 70 for a four-round total of 10-under 274 at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on Sunday (local time). He had been in second place halfway through the tournament before fading away over the final two rounds with 72-70. Im recorded six birdies against four bogeys and a double bogey Sunday. He started the round in sixth place and came up just a strok

Sept. 8, 2020

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young decides not to defend LPGA major title in California

Citing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, Ko Jin-young, the world No. 1 in women's golf from South Korea, has decided not to defend an LPGA major championship in California this month. SEMA Sports Marketing, Ko's Seoul-based agency, announced Friday that Ko will not compete at the ANA Inspiration, which opens Sept. 10 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. The tournament is usually held in late March or early April but has been pushed back this year because of the CO

Sept. 4, 2020

S. Korea's Kim nearly makes two aces in grabbing PGA lead

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- South Korea's Kim Si-woo aced one hole and lipped out on another hole-in-one bid Saturday on his way to grabbing a two-stroke lead at the US PGA Wyndham Championship. Sparkling on the same course where he won his first PGA title four years ago, Kim fired an eight-under par 62 to stand on 18-under 192 after 54 holes at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. Americans Rob Oppenheim, who shot 62, and Doc Redman, who fired a 63, shared second on 194 in search of

Aug. 16, 2020

S. Korean women's golf tour cancels 3 tournaments as sponsors pull out

In cruise control since resuming its season in May during the coronavirus pandemic, the South Korean women's golf tour has canceled three tournaments set for August and September. The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) announced Wednesday the scrapped tournaments are: the HighOne Resort Ladies Open (Aug. 20-23), the Hanwha Classic (Aug. 27-30) and the All for You Renoma Championship (Sept. 10-13). Of the three, the Hanwha Classic is a major tournament. The KLPGA said title co

July 29, 2020

Golfer banned for flipping off fans granted pardon, set for Aug. return

Kim Bi-o, a South Korean golfer initially banned for a year for making an obscene gesture toward fans at a domestic men's golf tournament last year, has been granted a special pardon and will be eligible to return next month. The Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) announced Monday that Kim will be reinstated before the end of his one-year suspension, which began last October. He'll be able to enter the Korean Tour's GS Caltex Maekyung Open, which begins on Aug. 21. In a statement,

July 27, 2020

KLPGA practice round canceled after recent visitor tests positive for coronavirus

An official practice round for a South Korean women's golf tournament was canceled on Wednesday after the event organizers learned that a recent visitor to the competition venue tested positive for the novel coronavirus, though the actual tournament will begin as scheduled on Thursday. The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour announced on Wednesday that the practice round for the BC Card Hankyung Ladies Cup at the Fortune Hills Country Club in Pocheon, some 45 kilometers nor

June 24, 2020

LPGA stars set to compete at 2nd major of S. Korean tour

The second major championship of the South Korean women's golf tour is scheduled for this week, with the leaderboard come Sunday likely to resemble that from an LPGA event. World No. 1 Ko Jin-young is one of a handful of LPGA stars who will take the field at the 34th Kia Motors Korea Women's Open Golf Championship, which will run from Thursday to Sunday at Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul. It's the second major of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Associat

June 17, 2020

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