Exempt status
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PGA TOUR: Tournament winner (thru 2022-23)
JOINED TOUR
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Korn Ferry Tour: 2018
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PGA TOUR: 2019
PGA TOUR Victories (1)
Korn Ferry Tour Victories (2)
- 2018 The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay, WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz
International Victories (1)
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2019 Genesis Championship
PLAYOFF RECORD
PGA TOUR (0-1)
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2020 Lost to Sebastián Muñoz, Sanderson Farms Championship
National Teams
Personal
- Grew up playing The Club at Nine Bridges which later became the host of THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES.
- Played junior golf tournaments with Si Woo Kim in South Korea growing up.
- First came to the United States in 2017 to compete in the second stage of Korn Ferry Q-School
- Never uses #4 golf ball because the number is a symbol of bad luck and sounds similar to the word "death" in South Korea.
Special Interests
CURRENT YEAR HIGHLIGHTS
- The American Express: Held a one-stroke lead after the second round of The American Express before finishing T12. Marked his third career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR (fell to 0-for-3).
- Sentry Tournament of Champions: Carded four scores in the 60s to finish T5 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in his tournament debut.
- Masters Tournament: Tied Cameron Smith for second in his Masters Tournament debut. Became the first player from Asia to win or finish second in tournament history. Co-led the field in Birdies (24).
Career Highlights
2021 Season
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The American Express: Held a one-stroke lead after the second round of The American Express before finishing T12. Marked his third career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR (fell to 0-for-3).
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Sentry Tournament of Champions: Carded four scores in the 60s to finish T5 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in his tournament debut.
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Masters Tournament: Tied Cameron Smith for second in his Masters Tournament debut. Became the first player from Asia to win or finish second in tournament history. Co-led the field in Birdies (24).
2020 Season
Won his first career PGA TOUR title at The Honda Classic and advanced to the TOUR Championship for the second consecutive season, finishing the season No. 11 in the FedExCup standings. Took over the FedExCup lead for the first time in his career following the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and held it for a total of two weeks. Became the third player to move to No. 1 in the FedExCup before turning 22, joining Joaquin Niemann and Jordan Spieth. Was recognized through the Wyndham Rewards Top 10, holding the No. 5 position in the FedExCup standings entering the Playoffs. Recorded seven top-10s, matching his total from his rookie season, highlighted by the win and a playoff loss at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Made the cut in 21 of 26 starts. Led the PGA TOUR in Birdies (390) and Sub-Par Rounds (64) for the second consecutive season. Competed for the International Team at the Presidents Cup, making his debut at the event.
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Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard: Finished third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard to take over the FedExCup lead for the first time in his career. Marked his second consecutive third-place result at the event.
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The Honda Classic: Won his first PGA TOUR title in his 50th career start, shooting a final-round 66 to win The Honda Classic by one stroke. At age 21 years, 337 days, became the second player aged 21 or younger to win on the season (first: Joaquin Niemann). Led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (3.072 per round). Got up-and-down from a greenside bunker at the 72nd hole to make par and ranked T3 for the week in Sand Save Percentage (75.00%). Cracked the top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time following the win.
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ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP: Finished T3 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, marking his second top-three finish of the season. Week was highlighted by a second-round 64.
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Sanderson Farms Championship: Fell to Sebastian Munoz in a playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship, earning the first top-two finish of his career. Birdied three of the last five holes in the final round to finish at 18-under 270. Recorded four scores in the 60s for the third time in his career. Made 24 birdies, tied with Bronson Burgoon for most in the field.
2019 Season
Named PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year as voted on by the TOUR's membership, winning the Arnold Palmer Award. Became the second player to win Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year and PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year in consecutive seasons, joining Stewart Cink. Was the only rookie to advance to the TOUR Championship and finished the season tied for 19th in the FedExCup standings. Became the 13th rookie to qualify for the TOUR Championship in the FedExCup era. Led the TOUR in Birdies (480), Eagles (18) and Total Hole Outs (25). Became the first rookie in the FedExCup era to play 35 or more events. Earned seven top-10s and made 26 cuts in 35 starts.
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Genesis Championship: Earned his first KPGA Tour title at the Genesis Championship, winning by two shots at 6-under 282. Started the final round seven shots behind the 54-hole leader en route to victory. Among the 68 players that made the cut, was one of eight players to card an under-par score on Sunday.
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BMW Championship: Closed the BMW Championship with rounds of 66-67 to finish T11 at Medinah Country Club. Moved to No. 24 in the FedExCup standings, securing his spot as lone rookie at the TOUR Championship.
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RBC Canadian Open: Finished seventh at 11-under at the RBC Canadian Open. Entered the week having never recorded multiple eagles in the same round before accomplishing the feat twice (2/R2, 2/R4). Became the first player with multiple eagles in multiple rounds in the same tournament since Jason Dufner at the 2015 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide.
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Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship: As the highest-ranked player in the field in the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking, closed with a 1-under 71 to finish 14-under and T7 at Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Notched his fifth top-10 finish in his first 17 starts as a PGA TOUR member. Held the 36-hole lead at 10-under.
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Valspar Championship: Finished T4 at the Valspar Championship with a score of 6-under 278. Co-led the field in Greens in Regulation (49) and birdies (19).
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Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard: With a T3 in his Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard debut, earned his best result in his 16th start on TOUR. As one of the top-three finishers inside the top 10 not otherwise eligible for The Open Championship, earned a spot in the field at Royal Portrush.
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Waste Management Phoenix Open: In his first start at TPC Scottsdale, posted four rounds in the 60s to finish T7 with defending champion Gary Woodland and Chris Stroud at 11-under 273. Tied Xander Schauffele for best Scrambling percentage in the field (86.36%).
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THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES: Announced as the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year Thursday of tournament week in his hometown of Jeju Island at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. Went on to a T41 finish in the event.
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Safeway Open: In first start as a PGA TOUR member, opened with a bogey-free 6-under 66 en route to a T4. Closed with birdies on two of his final three holes and finished one shot out of the playoff won by Kevin Tway.
2018 Season
Finished the Korn Ferry Tour season with two wins, three runner-up finishes and three additional top-10s in 20 made cuts from 25 starts. Won his first ever start on the Korn Ferry Tour and finished runner-up in the second. Became the first player in Korn Ferry Tour history to lead the money list every week of the season (27 weeks). Became the first Korean-born player to end the season as the leading money winner. Was first in the final priority-ranking order.
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WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz: Converted a 54-hole lead at the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz into his second victory of the season. Became the fourth youngest winner on Tour with his win, at 20 years, 3 months, 25 days. Went wire-to-wire as the money list leader in the Regular Season, and became the first player since 1990 to win the first and last event of the Tour's Regular Season.
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Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Heartland Chevy Dealers: Held the 18-hole lead and a share of the 36-hole lead at the Pinnacle Bank Championship. Carded a 71 and trailed by two after the third round. Recorded a final-round 67 for a solo-second, his third runner-up performance of the season.
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LECOM Health Challenge: Picked up his sixth top-10 finish of the year with a T8 at the LECOM Health Challenge.
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BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation: Carded a final-round 8-under 63 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am for his fifth top-10 of season. Birdied the 72nd hole for a T9.
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Knoxville Open: Posted four consecutive sub-70 rounds at the Knoxville Open to finish the week in solo-second, picking up the fourth top-10 finish of his rookie season. Wound up three shots shy of winner Stephan Jaeger.
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Savannah Golf Championship: Eagled the par-5 finishing hole in the final round of the Savannah Golf Championship for a T8.
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The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club: Birdied the final three holes of the third round at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club to pull within one of the 54-hole lead. Carded a final-round 69 for a solo-second performance. Missed a 10-foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole to a force a playoff.
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The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay: Earned his first win on the Korn Ferry Tour with a four-stroke triumph over Carlos Ortiz at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay. At age 19 years, 9 months, 17 days, became the second youngest champion in Tour history behind Jason Day (19 years, 7 months, 26 days). Recorded 18 birdies over 72 holes to become the 16th player in Tour history to win in his first start.
2017 Season
Competed on the Japan Golf Tour, where he recorded nine top-10 finishes in 23 starts, including a runner-up performance at the Mynavi ABC Championship. Finished the season at No. 12 in the Money Ranking. Ranked in the top five on Tour in scoring average (70.35), greens in regulation (70.11), birdie average (3.89), par 4 performance (-23) and driving accuracy (62.27).