'4 People 4 Colors'..."Golf Stars Who Dominated This Year"

McIlroy 'True to His Reputation', Lydia Ko 'The Icing on the Cake'
Park Minji 'Unstoppable Momentum', Kim Youngsoo 'Sweet After Hardship'

Rory McIlroy became the first-ever FedEx Cup three-time champion.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] There are stars who dominated the golf world this year.

These players made their presence felt both in the United States and domestically. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) made history by becoming a three-time FedEx Cup champion, Lydia Ko (New Zealand) entered her second prime and became a ‘taken woman.’ Park Min-ji dominated the domestic stage for the second consecutive year, and Kim Young-soo rose to the top after more than a decade of obscurity. We summarized the achievements of these four brightest players of 2022 with four-character idioms.

◆ ‘Myeongbulheojeon (名不虛傳)’ = Living up to the name. McIlroy won the Tour Championship, the final event of the 2021/2022 PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs, in August, earning a bonus of $18 million (about 22.9 billion KRW). This was his third FedEx Cup victory, a first in history following wins in 2016 and 2019. McIlroy also dominated the European Tour. He topped the ‘Race to Dubai,’ which ranks players based on points accumulated throughout the year. This was his fourth time achieving this, after 2012, 2014, and 2015. McIlroy became the second player ever, after Henrik Stenson (Sweden) in 2013, to simultaneously top both the U.S. and European tours.

In October, McIlroy secured his 23rd career win at the 2022/2023 season’s The CJ Cup, marking his first successful title defense at this event. He pushed Scottie Scheffler (USA) down to second place in the world rankings and reclaimed the No. 1 spot for the first time in 2 years and 3 months since July 2020. McIlroy said, “Returning to No. 1 in the world means a lot. I have trained hard over the past year, and now I can enjoy playing.” He represents the PGA Tour in opposition to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf.

Lydia Ko becomes the "Hyundai family daughter-in-law" this year, marking her second prime.

◆ ‘Geumsangcheomhwa (錦上添花)’ = Adding flowers to brocade, meaning good things keep happening. This is the story of Lydia Ko (New Zealand), the ‘future daughter-in-law of the Hyundai family.’ Ko finished the 2022 LPGA Tour season in spectacular fashion. Last month, she secured a wire-to-wire victory at the CME Group Tour Championship, holding the top spot on the leaderboard for all four days. This was her third win of the season and 19th career victory, earning the largest prize money in LPGA history of $2 million (about 2.5 billion KRW).

Lydia Ko swept the money list ($4,364,403), Player of the Year, scoring average (Vare Trophy), CME Group Race, and most wins, making it her best year ever. It was her first time winning three tournaments in a year since 2016. She reclaimed the No. 1 world ranking for the first time in 5 years and 5 months since June 2017. But that’s not all. On the 30th, Lydia Ko will marry Jung Joon, the only son of Jung Tae-young, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Card, at Myeongdong Cathedral in Jung-gu, Seoul. Ko said, “I didn’t know if I could be No. 1 again. It’s thanks to the trust of the people I love.”

Park Min-ji dominated the domestic stage by securing 6 wins for two consecutive years.

◆ ‘Pajukjise (破竹之勢)’ = An unstoppable momentum. Park Min-ji completed ‘Again Min-ji this year.’ Last year, Park swept six wins, dominating the Korean LPGA (KLPGA) Tour. This year, she again won six titles out of 22 tournaments, earning her the top spot in both wins and prize money for the second consecutive year. With 16 career wins on the KLPGA Tour, she ranks fourth all-time behind the late Ku Ok-hee and Shin Ji-ae (both with 20 wins), and Ko Woo-soon (17 wins), becoming the active player with the most wins.

Park collected trophies starting with defending her title at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship in May, followed by wins at the Celltrion Queens Masters and BC Card·Hankyung Ladies Cup in June, KB Financial Star Championship in September, Hite Jinro Championship in October, and the final SK Shieldus·SK Telecom Championship in November. She won two of the five majors. She entered the top 10 eleven times and earned 1.47792 billion KRW in prize money. Her career earnings surpassed 5 billion KRW, second only to Jang Ha-na. She also rose to 14th in the world rankings. Park smiled brightly, saying, “I think my prime has arrived.”

'The ill-fated golf prodigy' Kim Young-su showed determination by winning a championship after an impressive 11 years.

◆ ‘Gojingamrae (苦盡甘來)’ = Sweetness comes after hardship. Kim Young-soo was a ‘golf prodigy’ with no rivals during his junior years. After winning all amateur tournaments, he debuted on the Korean Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA) Korean Tour in 2011 but failed to make a mark and was forgotten. Injuries held him back. Shortly after turning pro, he suffered from a herniated disc in his spine, struggling to even get out of bed or put on socks.

Kim enlisted in the military in 2012. Although he was told to undergo a re-examination six months later during his physical, he volunteered for the navy to avoid wasting time and served as a deckhand. With help from NC Dinos baseball coach Lee Jong-wook and catcher Yang Eui-ji (Doosan), he overcame chronic back pain. In October, Kim won the Genesis Championship on his 107th start, and last month, he won the LG Signature Players Championship after a playoff. He swept the money list, Player of the Year, and the Golf Journalists Association’s Most Improved Player award, achieving a triple crown. Kim tearfully said, “I came this far by never giving up and enduring until the end.”

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