[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Kim Seong-hyun (24, right) and An Byeong-hoon (31) have secured their tickets for next season's PGA Tour.
The PGA Tour announced on the 14th (local time) that Kim Seong-hyun and An Byeong-hoon ranked 12th and 13th respectively in the regular season points standings of the Korn Ferry Tour (the second-tier tour), which concluded that day, earning their PGA Tour cards for the next season. The Korn Ferry Tour held its season finale, the Pinnacle Bank Championship final round, at The Club at Indian Creek (par 71) in Omaha, Nebraska. Although Kim Seong-hyun and An Byeong-hoon missed the cut two days earlier, they comfortably secured their PGA Tour cards. The Korn Ferry Tour grants PGA Tour eligibility to the top 25 players in the regular season points standings, and an additional 25 PGA Tour cards are awarded to the top performers in the Finals Series, which includes players who lost their PGA Tour cards.
Kim Seong-hyun participated in 19 Korn Ferry Tour events this year. Although he did not win any tournaments, he finished in the top 10 four times, including two runner-up finishes. Kim said, "Starting this fall season, I will participate in PGA Tour events, and I want to quickly adapt as I did on the Korn Ferry Tour and maintain my PGA Tour card." He added, "I promised myself to maintain consistency, and that consistency has borne fruit. Everything went according to plan. It's surprising that I achieved this sooner than expected, but I worked hard for it."
An Byeong-hoon, who lost his PGA Tour card last season and endured hardships on the Korn Ferry Tour, signaled his early return to the PGA Tour by winning once and finishing runner-up once in 17 events. An said, "Returning to the PGA Tour was my first goal, and now I want to play better once I’m back. I want to win and achieve better results in major championships. I want to become the best player in the world," sharing his ambitions. The PGA Tour will begin the 2022/2023 season with the Fortinet Championship, held over four days starting September 15 in Napa, California.
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