This Nov. 3, 2024, file photo provided by the KPGA Tour shows South Korean golfer Jang Yu-bin during the final round of the Dong-A Membership Exchange Group Open at Jangsu Golf Resort in Jangsu, North Jeolla Province. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Jang Yu-bin, the top player on the South Korean men’s golf tour this year, will ply his trade on a Saudi Arabia-backed renegade circuit next year.
LIV Golf, bankrolled by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, announced Tuesday (Eastern Time) that Jang will join Iron Heads Golf Club (GC), one of 13 teams that competed in the 2024 season.
Jang, 22, becomes the first South Korean national to be part of LIV Golf, which had its inaugural season in 2022.
Iron Heads GC, the runner-up at the LIV Golf Team Championship in September, is captained by South Korean-born American Kevin Na, with Danny Lee, a South Korean native representing New Zealand, also in tow. Korean American Martin Kim, a former Los Angeles Dodgers front office member, is the general manager of Iron Heads.
Jinichiro Kozuma of Japan and Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe were two other players on the team this past season. After each season, though, non-captain players finishing below 49th place in individual standings are relegated out of LIV Golf and must earn their way back into the following season through the qualifying tournament, LIV Golf Promotions.
From Iron Heads, Vincent finished in 50th to play himself off the team, leaving a spot open for a new player.
Jang had a dominant 2024 season on the KPGA Tour, sweeping up the Player of the Year award, the money title and the scoring title. Jang won two tournaments and recorded nine other top-10 finishes, including five runner-ups, in 21 starts. He was also the tour’s longest hitter, with an average driving distance of 311.4 yards, and made more birdies than anyone with 335. Jang won the men’s team gold medal, alongside two PGA Tour veterans, Kim Si-woo and Im Sung-jae, at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
In this file photo from Nov. 15, 2024, South Korean golfer Jang Yu-bin speaks after receiving the trophy as the 2024 KPGA Tour Player of the Year during an awards ceremony in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
In a statement released by his Seoul-based agency, All That Sports, Jang said he first received an offer from Iron Heads in mid-November. He said he had to decide between going to LIV Golf or taking a crack at the PGA Tour, before ultimately signing his deal with the former Monday.
“The biggest reason I chose LIV Golf is that I will have a chance to compete against world-class players right away,” Jang said. “I also wanted to become the first South Korean player to join LIV Golf. And I won’t deny that giant purses on the LIV tour played a part.”
LIV Golf offers huge purses at its 54-hole, no-cut tournaments. In 2024, each regular LIV Golf tournament had a purse of US$25 million — bigger than any PGA Tour event this year except The Players Championship, which also had a $25 million purse — with $20 million distributed among the 54 players in each field and the remaining $5 million split among the top three teams.
Jang had been scheduled to compete in the PGA Tour’s qualifying tournament, the Q-School, starting Thursday in Florida, where the top five players and ties will earn their cards to the world’s biggest golf circuit.
Instead, Jang will now join a tour often criticized for being a vehicle for Saudi Arabia’s “sportswashing,” which refers to an effort by the country with a record of human rights abuses to cleanse its public image through sports.
Jang played with Na and Lee at the PIF Saudi International, an Asian Tour event, last week, and Na is believed to have played a role in persuading Jang to change his mind.
“They are both great players, and we all had a great time together,” Jang said. “I’ve also seen Jinichiro play, and I think he’s a tremendous player. As long as I can get acclimated well during my first year, I think our team will have a great season.
Jang said he had his U.S.-bound flight and hotel all booked in preparation for the PGA Tour Q-School before receiving an offer from Iron Heads. He admitted that the possibility of making a jump to the PGA Tour through the qualifying tournament was something that held him back from signing on with LIV Golf right away.
“I think there isn’t only one way to become the best player in the world. If LIV Golf and PGA Tour improve their relationship, I think more pathways will open up,” Jang said. “Look at the number of KPGA players entering the LIV Golf Promotions this year. You can tell players’ perceptions (of LIV Golf) are changing.”
Jang said he hasn’t abandoned his PGA Tour dreams and said, “If I have an opportunity down the road, I’d love to play on the PGA Tour.”
Jang added he was looking forward to playing as part of a team in LIV Golf, calling the opportunity to do so “a bonus that you won’t get on other tours.”
LIV Golf will hold a tournament in South Korea for the first time next year, with Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, just west of Seoul, hosting the LIV Golf Korea from May 2-4.
“I put a lot of thought into this decision, and I am sure I’ve surprised many people with this move,” Jang said. “I am trying to work up my courage and overcome fears as I embark on a new journey. I’d like to ask fans for their continued support, and I am looking forward to seeing them in May.”
With the LIV Golf season ending in August, Jang said he plans to play in some Asian Tour and KPGA Tour events later in the year.
In this Nov. 3, 2024, file photo provided by the KPGA Tour, South Korean golfer Jang Yu-bin hits a tee shot during the final round of the Dong-A Membership Exchange Group Open at Jangsu Golf Resort in Jangsu, North Jeolla Province. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
In a statement released by Iron Heads, Na said he had been following Jang’s career “for years” as a promising young talent from Korea.
“The Iron Heads needed young talent like his to push our veterans, and I’m confident he has what it takes to become a world-class golfer,” the 41-year-old Na said. “Yu-bin’s presence shows young Korean golfers a clear path to competing globally against the best, and with an event in Korea this year, his addition is a major boost for our team. It’s an incredibly exciting time for Korean golf.”
In a separate article posted on LIV Golf’s website, Na declared that Jang will be “the next best Korean golfer.”
“That’s how much I believe in him. And I told him that too,” Na said.
On playing alongside Jang in Saudi Arabia last week, Na said, “I liked everything I saw.”
“He’s a good ball-striker, good build, hits it a long way, and he’s very modest,” Na added. “But I know deep down inside, he’s not scared. He’s going to be a world-class player.”
Na said he was aware of Jang’s initial reservations about joining LIV Golf when he was scheduled to play in the PGA Tour Q-School. Na convinced Jang that he will have a chance to play against the best immediately in LIV Golf.
“I just told him this is the right move for him,” Na said. “He obviously had thoughts of going to the U.S. tour, and I said: ‘There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s no guarantee you’re going straight to the top level and playing. It takes a few years, maybe on the (second-tier) Korn Ferry Tour, maybe a year. And then it’ll take maybe another year or two to get to the elevated events. Or you can come straight here, get a multi-year deal, you’re going to play against the best in the world, and the best fields in golf.’”
Kim said he was “thrilled” to bring back Lee and Kozuma for another season and added: “I’m really loving our roster with the addition of our new young gun (in Jang). It’s going to be a fun ride next season.”
Iron Heads GC is scheduled to hold a two-week training camp in Palm Springs, California, before opening the season at LIV Golf Riyadh on Feb. 6.
LIV Golf has successfully lured some of the biggest names on the PGA Tour, including Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm.
Na had five PGA Tour titles under his belt before moving to LIV Golf, while Lee had a win each on the PGA Tour and the European Tour prior to his switch.
(Yonhap)
