Korea’s Seonghyeon Kim cemented his stature as yet another rising star from Asia when he became the second golfer to secure PGA Tour-bound status on the Korn Ferry Tour on Sunday.
Six months after earning his Korn Ferry Tour card right on the number through Qualifying School in November, the 23-year-old has needed only 11 tournaments to surpass the projected 900-point threshold to secure a PGA Tour card for next season. China’s Carl Yuan was the first player to be Tour-bound last month.
The ultra-talented Kim has impressed in his debut season in the U.S. with three top-3 finishes and another tied sixth and needed to just make the cut at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation to reach the fail-safe threshold. He finished tied 55th on Sunday.
American Brent Grant shot a closing 69 to win the tournament by one shot from overnight leader Kevin Yu of Chinese Taipei (71). China’s Marty Dou, who played on the PGA Tour in 2018, finished tied fifth with a final round 72 for his third top-5 of the season to move up to seventh place on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season points list. The Top-25 will earn PGA Tour cards.
“I can’t really explain my feelings right now, but I think I’ll know better once I get to the Tour and play my first event,” said a delighted Kim, who remained in second place behind Yuan on the points standing.
“When I first came here to compete on the Korn Ferry Tour, I promised myself that I wanted to be consistent, and it has really paid off. I started off well in the Bahamas and to get off to a hot start gave me confidence and comfort.”
Kim turned professional when he was 18 and showed his promise by winning on the Korean Tour in 2020. He won on the Japan Golf Tour last year, before deciding to venture to the U.S. to chase his American dream.
With the pressure now off, he intends to challenge for the No. 1 ranking on the Korn Ferry Tour which will give him access to events such as The Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event, next year.
“That’s definitely the new goal now,” he said. “With the number of events left and the game that I’m playing right now, I would love to finish No. 1. I’m going to work hard for it.”
Kim is somewhat surprised with his quick success and also paid tribute to Korean golf legend K.J. Choi, who has been amongst other established PGA Tour stars who have offered advice and support.
“Definitely a lonely journey … it’s a first time for me to come overseas to such a faraway place and staying in hotels week in, week out. But I was fortunate to have a lot of fellow Korean players who became close friends now and helped me,” said Kim.
“K.J. has helped me in many ways … offering a place to stay at times and providing home-cooked meals and a place to practice. Whether it is practice methods or goal, mind-set setting, he has given me various advice and confidence to be successful out here in my journey to the PGA Tour. It’s truly a blessing to have K.J., a Korean golf legend, helping a player like me. He is a leader and a true mentor who wishes his successors to be successful.”
