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

S. Korea's Kim Sei-young wins LPGA Marathon Classic

South Korean golfer Kim Sei-young has captured her ninth LPGA title, winning the Marathon Classic tournament in Sylvania, Ohio.The 26-year-old shot a 22-under 262 to win the four-round tournament on Sunday (local time). She shot a six-under 65 on the last day to edge out Lexi Thompson of the United States by two strokes at the par-71 Highland Meadows Golf Club.The win marked Kim's ninth career title on the LPGA Tour and her second of the year. The 26-year-old, who picked up a check of $262,500,

July 15, 2019

S. Korean Park Sung-hyun captures 7th career LPGA title, set to reclaim No. 1 ranking

South Korean star Park Sung-hyun has reached lucky No. 7 in her LPGA career win total and will reclaim the No. 1 spot in the world rankings.Park won the 54-hole Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in Rogers, Arkansas, on Sunday (local time), at 18-under 195, beating three golfers by one shot and earning $300,000.Park fired a final round of five-under 66 at the Pinnacle Country Club for her second victory of 2019. Two fellow South Koreans -- Park In-bee and Kim Hyo-joo -- were among the runners-up.

July 1, 2019

[Newsmaker] Haney boasts prediction of Lee’s victory -- while misspelling her name

Golf professional and former coach of Tiger Woods, Hank Haney defended his earlier controversial remark on Korean golfers, saying Lee Jeong-eun’s LPGA victory proved his earlier prediction, which he described as “based on statistics and facts.”In tweets that have drawn wide coverage in Korea, Haney referred to Lee, who captured the US Women’s Open for her maiden LPGA victory Sunday, as proof that his comments were not entirely sarcastic.  “My prediction that a

June 3, 2019

S. Korean Lee Jeong-eun wins US Women's Open for 1st LPGA title

South Korean rookie Lee Jeong-eun has captured the US Women's Open for her maiden LPGA victory.Lee rallied to take the oldest major championship in women's golf on Sunday at Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, becoming the 19th player in history to win her first LPGA title at the American national tournament. Lee finished at six-under 278 to beat three golfers, including fellow South Korean Ryu So-yeon, by two strokes and took home US$1 million, the largest winner's check i

June 3, 2019

S. Korea's Kim Sei-young earns 1st LPGA win of '19 in San Francisco

Kim Sei-young has joined a growing list of South Korean champions on the LPGA Tour this season.Kim captured the LPGA Mediheal Championship at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, California, on Sunday (local time) in a three-way playoff for her first title of 2019 and eighth of her career. (Yonhap)Kim beat out fellow South Korean Lee Jeong-eun and England's Bronte Law, after they all finished 72 holes at seven-under 281, and improved to 4-0 in career playoffs.Kim is the fifth South Korean to win

May 6, 2019

S. Korean Ko Jin-young captures 1st career LPGA major

In just her second season on the LPGA Tour, Ko Jin-young can call herself a major champion.The South Korean won the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, California, on Sunday (local time), at 10-under 278, three shots over fellow South Korean Lee Mi-hyang at Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club.Ko carded a 70 in the final round, mixing five birdies with three bogeys. She led comfortably for most of the day, though a pair of bogeys on the back nine saw her lead trimmed to one

April 8, 2019

Ko Jin-young rallies for 3rd career LPGA victory

South Korean Ko Jin-young has pulled off an impressive comeback for her third career LPGA victory.Ko rallied from a four-shot deficit to take the Bank of Hope Founders Cup at Wildfire Golf Club at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix on Sunday (local time). Ko carded a bogey-free final round of seven-under 65 to finish at 22-under 266, beating Liu Yu of China and three others by one stroke.Ko is the third straight South Korean to win on the tour in 2019 and fourth in six tour

March 25, 2019

Korean golfer known for unorthodox swing misses cut in PGA debut

South Korean golfer Choi Ho-sung, a viral Internet sensation thanks to an eccentric swing, has missed the cut at his first PGA Tour event.The 45-year-old shot a nine-over 224 after three rounds at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, on Saturday (local time). The cut was at two-under 213. (Yonhap)Choi opened his tournament with a 72 but followed that up with a 75 and then a 77. During the third round, Choi had two birdies and a double bogey on

Feb. 10, 2019

Korean Ji Eun-hee wins LPGA season opener

South Korean LPGA veteran Ji Eun-hee is off to a winning start in 2019.Ji captured the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on Sunday (local time) by two shots over fellow South Korean Lee Mi-rim. After a final round of 1-under 71, Ji finished at 14-under 270 for her fifth career LPGA win, worth $180,000.Ji Eun-hee (Yonhap)Ji shared the 54-hole lead at Tranquilo Golf Course at Four Seasons Golf & Sports Club Orlando with Lydia Ko at 13-under.Brooke Henderson was

Jan. 21, 2019

S. Korean golfer eyes LPGA's top rookie award in '19

South Korea has produced the past four LPGA Rookie of the Year Award winners. And Lee Jeong-eun wants to extend the streak to five in 2019.After dominating the Korea LPGA Tour over the past two seasons, Lee, 22, will take her talent to the US competition this year. She won the revamped LPGA qualifying tournament, named Q-Series, in Nov. and will now try to prove that her talent can translate to the world's premier circuit. (Yonhap)At a press conference in Seoul on Thursday discussing her goals f

Jan. 3, 2019

Top Korean tour star to join LPGA in 2019

Lee Jeong-eun, one of the best players on the South Korean women's golf tour over the past two years, decided on Wednesday to take her talent to the United States.In a statement released by her agency, Crowning, the 22-year-old winner of the LPGA qualifying tournament said she will play on the U.S. tour full-time starting in 2019. (KLPGA)Lee, the 2017 Korea LPGA Player of the Year, won the LPGA Q-Series earlier this month, earning a full-fledged card for the world's premier women's golf tour for

Nov. 28, 2018

Local favorite Nasa Hataoka fires 67 to win Japan Classic

Local favorite Nasa Hataoka shot a 5-under 67 on Sunday to win the Japan Classic for her second LPGA title of the season.Hataoka offset a pair of bogeys with seven birdies at the Seta Golf Club to finish at 14-under 202, two strokes ahead of compatriots Momoka Ueda, Saki Nagamine and Spain's Carlota Ciganda, who all shot 68. (AP-Yonhap)Hataoka, who also won the Arkansas Championship in June, started the final round four strokes behind second-round leader Minjee Lee. Lee quickly faded, playing th

Nov. 4, 2018