Golf 'Season of Stove League'... Which Player Will Heat Up the Market?

Lim Hee-jeong and Park Hyun-kyung Near Contract Expiry... Active Contact with New Sponsors
'Prize Money Queen' Park Min-ji Likely to Renew Contract with NH Investment & Securities
Companies Targeting Amateur Market... Golf Industry's 'Blue Ocean'

Lim Hee-jeong.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seohee Lee] As the season has ended and the full-fledged "stove league" has begun, top-tier players whose contracts with existing sponsors are about to expire are heating up the market. Especially from this year, amateur players can also sign sponsorship contracts worth hundreds of millions of won, accelerating competition among companies to recruit players who combine skill and star power.

The focus of the industry is on the 22-year-old peers, "Desert Fox" Lim Hee-jeong and "Cutieful" Park Hyun-kyung. Both players signed contracts with Korea Land Trust in 2020 and are approaching contract expiration this year. Lim Hee-jeong, who won the KLPGA Popularity Award for two consecutive years until this year, won the DB Group Korea Women's Open Golf Championship in June and placed in the "Top 10" in nine tournaments. Although Park Hyun-kyung failed to lift a winner's trophy, she proved her consistent skills by entering the "Top 10" in 14 tournaments.

According to a representative from Lim Hee-jeong's agency on the 13th, Lim is reportedly discussing possibilities with various companies, including healthcare firms and eco-friendly companies. It is said that various companies sent recruitment proposals to Lim's side immediately after the season ended. At the same time, re-signing with the existing sponsor Korea Land Trust is also being considered.

The representative said, "Nothing has been decided yet regarding her future whereabouts," but added, "We are discussing various options, and if we renew the contract, it will naturally be on better terms than before. I think the discussions will be concluded by the end of this month at the latest."

Park Min-ji.

Park Min-ji, who surpassed 1 billion won in prize money for two consecutive years this year and won the most victories, is also approaching the end of her contract period with NH Investment & Securities. Starting with the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship in May, Park Min-ji won the Celltrion Queens Masters and BC Card Hankyung Ladies Cup in June, and then the SK Shieldus·SK Telecom Championship, achieving six wins this season, following last year. Despite receiving various love calls after her best year, Park, who has maintained a relationship with NH Investment & Securities since signing in 2017, is known to be highly likely to keep her loyalty to NH Investment & Securities this time as well.

According to the industry, Park has decided on a two-year contract renewal with NH Investment & Securities and is negotiating detailed terms. The signing bonus is reported to exceed 1 billion won annually. She is also positively reviewing contract renewals with sub-sponsors such as NH Nonghyup Bank, NH Savings Bank, Taean Motors, and QED.

Meanwhile, the US Golf Association (USGA) and the R&A, which govern global golf regulations, changed related rules from this year to allow amateur players to sign sponsorship contracts, intensifying competition in the golf industry to recruit promising amateur players.

Hwang Yumin. Photo by KLPGA.

Recruiting amateur players is called a "blue ocean" in the golf industry. This is because companies can sponsor players with high growth potential at relatively low costs, and generally, the golf industry atmosphere favors long-term partnerships with companies that signed contracts during the amateur period.

In fact, the three national team players from 2022?Hwang Yu-min, Bang Shin-sil, and Kim Min-byeol?are sponsored by prominent companies. Hwang Yu-min signed with Lotte, Bang Shin-sil with KB Financial Group, and Kim Min-byeol with HiteJinro this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.