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Korean golfers fail to qualify for PGA Tour, but some secure a spot for Korn Ferry Tour

Published: 16 Dec. 2024, 15:15 Updated: 16 Dec. 2024, 17:44

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Noh Seung-yul hits a shot from the eighth tee during the second round of PGA Tour Q-Series at the Dye's Valley Course in Florida on Dec. 13. [AFP/YONHAP]

All four Korean golfers Noh Seung-yul, Lee Seung-taek, Bae Sang-moon and Kim Seong-hyeon failed to win a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season after failing to finish in the top five at the PGA Q-Series at the Sawgrass Country Club in Florida on Sunday.

Noh made the best finish of the Koreans by tying for eighth with a 278, two-under-par, falling just two strokes behind joint fourth-placed finishers Alejandro Tosti, Will Chandler and Matthew Riedel who secured Tour cards. Those who finish within the top five were invited to attend the PGA Tour, while the next-ranking 40 players won a card to the less prestigious 2025 Korn Ferry Tour.

Noh, with his eighth-place finish, and Lee, with his joint 14th-place finish, still managed to rank high enough to attend the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour.

The rest of the finishers, including joint No. 43 Bae and joint No. 96 Kim earned conditional status for the Korn Ferry Tour.

All four Korean golfers but Lee competed in some PGA events last season but failed to win a Tour card for the 2025 campaign, as Kim finished in 130th, Noh in 177th and Bae in 216th on the FedEx Cup rankings. The PGA Tour gives out a season Tour card to those ranked No. 125 and above for the following season.

Lee will be competing in the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour on the back of his successful performance in the 2024 KPGA season during which he won his first and only title at the Lexus Masters in September and made the cut 14 times out of 19 competitions with six top-10 finishes.

Lee Seung-taek plays his shot from the eighth tee during the second round of PGA Tour Q-Series at TPC Sawgrass in Florida on Dec. 13. [AFP/YONHAP]

Noh will also be in Korn Ferry Tour action next season after his run in the PGA Tour, where he made only one top-10 finish in 11 events.

Had any of the four Korean contenders won a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season, they would have competed alongside fellow Korean golfers such as Tom Kim and Im Sung-jae, who have shone on the Tour.

Kim is a three-time PGA champion, who became the first player since Tiger Woods to win two titles on the Tour before the age of 21, while Two-time PGA winner Im pulled off eight top-10 finishes across 26 PGA competitions this season.

The 2024 PGA season proved to be challenging for the Korean champions and other elite golfers worldwide, as Scottie Scheffler dominated the majority of the campaign by winning seven titles.

Kim was close to clinching a title this season at the Travelers Championship in June but fell behind Scheffler to finish as a runner-up.

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

Over on the other side of the globe in Saudi Arabia, Lee Soo-min tied for eighth in the qualifying tournament for the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf on Sunday, nearly missing qualifying for the Tour, but securing a ticket to the 2025 International Series, given to top-10 finishers. The International Series consists of 10 Asian Tour competitions with significant amounts of prize money on the line.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]