Golf gets even harder as KPGA unveils night tournament

The Podo Country Club in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsan is lit up at night. [JOONGANG ILBO]

If hitting a tiny ball into a small hole from 400 yards away doesn’t sound hard enough, try doing it in the dark.

The KPGA’s senior circuit is set to launch Korea’s first night golf tournament, the Musco Moonlight KPGA Senior Open at the Podo Country Club in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang.

The Musco Moonlight Open is the first professional tournament of its kind in Korea, but night golf is not a new concept.

Playing golf at night has become common in Korea in recent years as the demand for tee times has outpaced the available sunlight. According to a New York Times article in June, 117 18-hole golf courses in Korea now offer nighttime golf.

Of course, night golf isn’t actually played in the dark. Instead, courses are lit up by an array of powerful floodlights, the same calibre that are common in other sports more commonly played after dark, like football and baseball.

The title sponsor for the Moonlight Open is sports lighting company Musco. The company is responsible for providing lights at stadiums around the world, including the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, where Korean star Son Heung-min famously scored the first-ever goal.

If the Musco Moonlight Open proves to be a success, the KLPGA or KPGA proper could look to incorporate a night tournament into the Tours as well.

The European Women’s Tour has also experimented with night tournaments and Tiger Woods played his Monday Night Golf challenge series from 1999 to 2005.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]