Rak Cho

JOINED TOUR

• PGA TOUR China: 2014
• Korn Ferry Tour: 2015

Personal

• Would like to trade places with Kobe Bryant for a day because it is his dream to play a game in the Staples Center.
• Dream foursome would be Bryant, Chris Paul and Michael Jordan.
• Favorite TV show is "Entourage." Favorite unusual food is kimchi. Favorite professional team is the Los Angeles Lakers.
• If he weren't a professional golfer he would be an NBA player.
• Favorite motto is "Only the strong survive."
• Has sky diving atop his bucket list.
• Best sporting event he has attended is a Los Angeles Lakers' playoff game.
• Has played St. Andrews and would someday like to play Augusta National.

Special Interests

• Singing

Career Highlights

2016 Season

Completed the season 13th on the Order of Merit, playing in 12 of the 13 events. Closed the year with four consecutive top-10s after not making one in his first eight starts.

• Web.com Tour Q-School: Suffered a fluke injury at the second stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament. Suffered an injury to his wrist when an errant shot during practice hit him. Withdrew from the event and rested.
• Buick Open: Had a strong finish to his season, earning his first career-runner up performance when he T2 at the season-ending Buick Open. Entered the final round a stroke off the 54-hole lead established by Huilin Zhang. Took the lead early in the final round Sunday but couldn't overcome a double bogey-bogey finish that left him tied with Mark Baldwin, Shotaro Wada and Callum Tarren, a shot behind Zhang's winning pace. Top-20 Order of Merit finish earned him 2017 membership should he choose on PGA TOUR China, the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamerica.
• Zhuhai Hengqing Phoenix Tree Open: Recorded a third consecutive top-10 when he T8 at the Zhuhai Hengqin Phoenix Tree Open in mid-November at the Orient G&CC. Put himself in position to make a Sunday run with middle rounds of 69-71 on Friday and Saturday. Faltered to a 3-over 74 Sunday but continued to inch up the Order of Merit chart, checking in at No. 18 after starting the week in 20th position.
• Putian Open: Returned to China, and without benefit of a practice round, played well at the Putian Open. Entered the final round alone in second place, five shots behind Taewoo Kim. Even when Kim made a quadruple bogey-9 at the par-5 fourth hole at Putian Mazu GC and Resort, he made a double bogey there himself. Fell from contention on No. 9 with another double bogey. After a slow start to the season, picked up his second consecutive top-10, to go with the third-place finish at the Ping An Bank Open in September
• Pingan Bank Open: Tied his career-best performance with his third-place showing at the Ping An Bank Open in Beijing in mid-September. Shot four sub-70 rounds at Topwin G&CC, including a final-round, 7-under 65, to finish three strokes behind winner Charlie Saxon. The ¥105,600 was a career-high payday, and he earned the top-three finish, the third time in as many years he's had at least one PGA TOUR China top-three outing.
• Long Beach Open: At the Long Beach Open in California in late-July, shot rounds of 67-68-69-67 to finish T4, a stroke out of the Garrett Sapp-Sam Saunders-David Gazzolo playoff that Sapp won.

2015 Season

Made four Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada starts in the summer, making one cut.

• ATB Financial Classic: Finished T70 at the ATB Financial Classic.
• Lushan Open: Had a solid tournament in mid-October, at the Lushan Open. Was 1-under through 54 holes playing the challenging Lushan International GC. Put together a solid final day, with three front-nine birdies and one more on the back nine on his way to a 3-under 67, good for a sixth-place finish, his second top-10 in three starts.
• Ping An Bank Open: Had a strong outing in Beijing in mid-September, shooting a final-round, 7-under 65 to T2 at the Ping An Bank Open. Had eight birdies and only one bogey as he tied Zihao Chen as the runners-up to winner Eugene Wong at Qinghe Bay GC. His 23 birdies led the field and were also the most in any tournament this season.

2014 Season

Finished the season 31st on the PGA TOUR China Order of Merit, playing in nine events and earning one top-10.

• Web.com Tour Q-School: Finished T87 at Korn Ferry Tour Q-School Finals.
• Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank: Attempted to qualify for the Utah Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour in mid-July. Missed Monday qualifying into the event in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy.
• Cadillac Championship: In his eighth start of the campaign, easily enjoyed his top performance. At the Cadillac Championship in Beijing, took the first-round lead with a 6-under 66 and was only a stroke off amateur Zi Hao Chen's 36-hole lead. Shot rounds of 72-68 on the weekend at Qinghe Bay GC to finish solo third, three shots behind winner David McKenzie. With the finish, moved up 20 points on the order of merit, to No. 23
• United Investment Real Estate Wuhan Open: Picked up his first top-25 of the campaign when he shot a final-round 68 at the United Investment Real Estate Wuhan Open to finish T23 in mid-May.
• Nanshan China Masters: Put himself into contention for a decent payday at the OneAsia Tour's Nanshan China Masters in mid-October. Shot a third-round, 3-under 68 but couldn't muster a charge on the final day during windy conditions at Nanshan International GC. Finished T19 with four others
• China QT CTS Tycoon Shenzhen: Earned conditional status by finishing 39th at the first Qualifying Tournament in Shenzhen.
• Championship at Wolf Creek: Traveled to Eden, Utah, for the eGolf Professional Tour event, the Championship at Wolf Creek. Opened with a 3-under 70 at Wolf Creek Resort then followed with back-to-back 65s to finish at 13-under in third place, a distant nine strokes behind winner Andrew Yun.