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Lee Seung-taek to tee off at PGA Q-Series in Florida

Published: 12 Dec. 2024, 15:35 Updated: 12 Dec. 2024, 17:42

PAIK JI-HWAN
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Lee Seung-taek hits a shot during the Lexus Masters at the A-One Country Club in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang, on Sept. 1. [KPGA]

KPGA veteran Lee Seung-taek heads to the PGA Q-Series, teeing off in Florida on Thursday alongside three countrymen — Bae Sang-moon, Noh Seung-yul and Kim Seong-hyeon — for coveted tickets to the world's No. 1 golf tour.

The Q-Series will have two rounds at the Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass and two other rounds at the Sawgrass Country Club, where contenders compete in groups in the first two rounds before being re-paired for the remaining two rounds. The entire series will run with a 72-hold stroke play format through the final round on Sunday.

Only those with top five finishes and ties in the 171-player field will win PGA Tour cards.

Lee, who has nine years of experience in the KPGA, will be competing on the back of his first and only KPGA title this year at the Lexus Masters in September.

The 29-year-old has enjoyed a successful overall 2024 KPGA season, during which he made the cut 14 times out of 19 tournaments and finished in the top 10 six times.

Fellow KPGA golfer Jang Yu-bin, who won the KPGA Player of the Year award this year, is not competing in the Q-Series as he decided to become the first Korean in LIV Golf.

Bae, Noh and Kim will be vying to secure a Tour card after failing to land in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup with their performances in the 2024 PGA season.

The PGA Tour gives out a season Tour card to those ranked No. 125 and above for the following season, but Kim finished in 130th, Noh in 177th and Bae in 216th.

Kim made the cut 23 times out of 34 tournaments on the Tour and finished in the top 10 once, before tying for 42nd at the RSM Classic last month, his last PGA competition of the season.

Kim Seong-hyeon hits from the native area on the second hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf on June 15 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. [AP/YONHAP]

Noh also made the top 10 once on the Tour in the 2024 season, with a joint sixth finish at the ISCO Championship in July.

Bae, meanwhile, heads to the Q-Series after an unimpressive performance in the 2024 PGA season where he missed the cut four times in six competitions. A joint 37th finish at the Procore Championship in September is his best finish of the season.

Bae Sang-moon hits a tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the Barracuda Championship at the Old Greenwood course at Tahoe Mountain Club on July 19 in Truckee, California. [AFP/YONHAP]

If the four challengers earn Tour cards, they will be competing alongside top golfers around the world in the 2025 season, including fellow Korean golfers such as Tom Kim and Im Sung-jae, who have shone on the Tour.

Three-time PGA winner Kim, who became the first player since Tiger Woods to win two titles on the Tour before the age of 21, will continue to be in PGA action next season on the back of one runner-up finish this season.

Two-time PGA champion Im will also be in the field after eight top 10 finishes across 26 PGA events this season.

The Tour will also see PGA star Scottie Scheffler in action, teeing off with seven wins on the Tour already under his belt this campaign.

The 2025 PGA campaign will tee off with the Sentry on Jan. 2 next year.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]