The 2022 Presidents Cup field illustrates golf’s growth in Asia, and around the world
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2022 Presidents Cup
Over 200,000 people are expected to attend this year’s Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club. Here’s our latest coverage, analysis and news from the tournament.
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Twenty five years ago, as KJ Choi recounted on Wednesday afternoon, Korean-born golfers with big dreams descended on America only to realize that they “can’t beat anybody.”
This year’s Presidents Cup, in some ways, testifies to all that’s changed.
For the first time in the Presidents Cup’s 28-year history, there will be four Korean-born players on the International team when competitors tee off on Thursday morning at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.
Those four are Sungjae Im, Joohyung “Tom” Kim, KH Lee and Si Woo Kim. A fifth Korean player — and Presidents Cup 2003 alum and trailblazer in his own right — Choi, will serve as a captain’s assistant for the team.
The International roster features 12 players from seven countries, and ultimately shows how far the game of golf has traveled since its popularity first cracked a global audience in the mid-1990s — particularly in parts of Asia, which has recently seen some of the most significant boosts of golf participation in the world.
It also serves as more evidence of a human truth that so-often shines through in sports: Talent can stream from anywhere. It just takes something — or some people — to open a floodgate.
“Now the mindset is, ‘OK, KJ as a young man, he did it,’ ” Choi said, seated beside his three other assistant captains from around the world. “We can go. It’s possible. ... The future says more players are coming. So I like it.”
KH Lee, who notched two top-10s last season, said the four Korean-born players on this year’s International squad “really shows the growth of Korean golf.”
“I’m proud of that,” Lee said through an interpreter. “And the reason that we have been able to have the success is (because) we’re able to lean on each other. Obviously, the familiarity between the players, I think, it’s only going to grow and help us to stay out here.”
Lee, like many golfers with big dreams from Korea, aspired to be like Choi. He said that he considered Choi as a “legendary, almost out-of-reach, mystical figure,” and he’s enjoyed getting to learn from him since joining the tour in 2014.
“He’s somebody we’ve definitely looked up to, all the Korean players, and he’s opened the door for us to be here,” he said of Choi, adding: “He definitely took all of us under his wing and became a big brother figure, so to speak.”
Si Woo Kim, the only pick by captain Trevor Immelman who has Presidents Cup experience, also shared fond memories and moments learning from Choi.
“(When) I was younger, always watching TV, KJ was always on,” Lee said. “Played, won. Had a lot of top-10s. He was like one of my idols when I was younger, so when I came here for the first time, I played a lot of practice with him. And then I got dinner with him, it was like a dream come true.”
Immelman weighed in on the fact that his roster will field a record five Asian-born golfers (the four Koreans and Hideki Matsuyama from Japan). He called it a “testament to the amazing work that countries have done at the grassroots level, all over the world.”
“For (U.S. Captain) Davis (Love III) and I, it doesn’t matter who we play for this week or who we represent, but we both want golf to be as great and inclusive as it possibly can be,” Immelman said. “So it’s exciting for me to see the explosion.
“When you look at our team, what we’re trying to tap into is the International team represents billions of people all over the world. So we’re trying to tap into that, inspire the youngsters all over, and welcome fans from all of those countries to come on down and support us in some way, shape or form because we’re their team.”
Presidents Cup also a diverse field in other ways
The Presidents Cup is an event that lends itself to meshing cultures, to celebrating and growing golf as a global phenomenon. It’s set up that way — pitting the 12-best American players against the 12-best non-American (and non-European, thanks to the Ryder Cup) players in the world.
But there is an argument to be made that this field has as large of a global footprint as it ever has.
On the International side, in addition to the five golfers from Asia, there are golfers from South Africa and Australia, from Latin America and Canada.
Golf has been an established pastime in South Africa and Australia. Some of the best golfers in the world hail from those countries — including Cameron Smith (third-ranked around the world but is on the LIV Tour), Adam Scott (30th) and Louis Oosthuizen (33rd, LIV Tour).
But in Latin America? That representation signifies growth, too.
“When we talk about Latin Tour golf, it’s moving in the right direction,” said team captain’s assistant Camilo Villegas.
Prior to this year (with the addition of Sebastian Munoz), he was the only player from Colombia to compete in the Presidents Cup, doing so in 2009, and has won four times on the PGA Tour.
“It’s an honor to be here with all those guys, and I’ve always said I love helping the younger generations. I’ve been very fortunate to do this for a long time out here, and enjoy the process, learn,” Villagas said. “I’ve had so many great experiences. ... I want to help everybody just accomplish their dreams.”
International team roster
Hideki Matsuyama, Japan (16); Sungjae Im, South Korea (18); Tom Kim, South Korea (21); Corey Connors, Canada (25); Adam Scott, Australia (30); K.H. Lee, South Korea (41) Mito Pereira, Chile (49) Cameron Davis, Australia (63) Sebastian Munoz, Colombia (65) Christiaan Bezuidenhout, South Africa (66) Si Woo Kim, South Korea (74) Taylor Pendrith, Canada (107)
This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 5:15 PM.
