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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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