To paraphrase the words of a popular Spanish song in the ‘80s... these girls are warriors, especially if they play golf and come from Korea – the South obviously. The Asian phenomenon in women’s professional golf – with an overwhelming superiority by the South Koreans – emerged nearly 20 years ago with the appearance on the international scene of Se Ri Pak. Since 1998, South Koreans have won 19 majors, with Se Ri Pak and Inbee Park tallying five each.

On the world ranking, at the end of April, golfers from this Far East country occupied three of the top-four places. Number one was Lydia Ko, who is a New Zealand national but was born in Korea. Second was Inbee and fourth, Hyo-Joo Kim. The seventh-placed woman was also Korean, and there were another eight among the leading 25: i.e. half the top-25 were born in Korea.

On the US LPGA Tour money list for this season, players born in South Korea held seven of the top-10 positions, led by Si Young Kim. The other three players in the top-10 were Americans. The top European was Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, in 12th position; and second, Carlota Ciganda from Spain (19th).

While the women professionals from this country are all the rage in world golf, the same cannot be said – by any margin – for their male counterparts. The women’s total of 19 majors includes two last season, but the men can only claim one: the US PGA Championship won by Y.E. Yang in a duel against Tiger Woods in 2009. After achieving that great feat, Yang – whose first US victory had come a few months earlier that same year (in the Honda Classic) – has failed to follow it up with another PGA Tour win, although he won twice in 2010 on the OneAsia Tour. This is all made patently clear in the rankings: he is out of the top-200 on the US Tour and around 500th in the world ranking.

While Se Ri Pak was the first female Korean to triumph in the US, K.J. Choi (Choi Kyung-Ju is his full name) was the first male from that country to secure his card to play on the US PGA Tour (in 2000), and he has gone on to collect eight titles, the first in 2002 (Compaq Classic in New Orleans) and the most recent in 2011 (The Players Championship). Now 45 and a professional since 1994, he has won 30 million dollars on the PGA Tour.

It’s true that the South Korean men’s outlook is not particularly brilliant at the moment. In the world ranking in April, the leading Korean was Sangmoon Bae, in 79th position, with Seungyul Noh second (108th) and K.J. Choi third (131st). However, things are looking a little better on this year’s US PGA money list as Bae – 28 years old and a professional since 2004 – is 12th.

Nevertheless, in spite of starting with a win (Frys.com Open), Bae is having an inconsistent season: in the 15 events he competed in up to the end of April he had four top-10 finishes and missed the cut four times, as well as retiring from another tournament.

Interestingly, the top South Korean in the rankings is actually an American: Kevin Na, born in South Korea but a nationalised US citizen, as his parents moved there when he was eight years old. He was 11th on the US Tour, his only victory having come in 2011 (Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open), and 21st in the world ranking. In 2010 he made his debut as an actor, appearing in an episode of CSI: Las Vegas. He is now 31 years old.

The keys to South Korean women golfers’ current international success are many and varied: a perfectionist spirit among young players, their self-sacrifice when it comes to practice, excellent opportunities to combine their studies with playing golf, scholarships to study in the US, and strong support from their families (many parents follow their children on their US journeys).

 

The Korean miracle is now a reality when it comes to their women golfers. Will the men be able to shine in a similar revolution?

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