20-year-old Kim Joo-hyung "World Ranking 19th"..."Surpasses Im Sung-jae to Become 'Korea Number 1'"~

Kim Joo-hyung is teeing off on the 7th hole on the final day of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Memphis (USA) = Getty Images / MultiBits Photo by MultiBits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Kim Joo-hyung (20), the 'youngest Korean PGA champion,' has surpassed Im Sung-jae (24) to become the 'top-ranked Korean' in the men's golf world rankings.

Kim Joo-hyung rose two spots to 19th place in the world rankings announced on the 14th (local time). This is the highest ranking for a Korean player, surpassing Im Sung-jae who remained at 20th place last week. Kim Joo-hyung was ranked 132nd in the first world rankings released this year and demonstrated remarkable strength by climbing over 100 spots in just over seven months. After winning the Asian Tour Singapore International in January and jumping to 89th place, he steadily improved his ranking by participating in various tournaments.

In particular, after finishing 3rd at the PGA Tour Genesis Scottish Open last month, his world ranking jumped from 61st to 39th. Following his first PGA Tour victory at last week's Wyndham Championship, his ranking rose from 34th to 21st. At the first round of the PGA Tour Playoffs (PO), the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which concluded that day, he tied for 13th place, slightly improving his world ranking.

Scottie Scheffler (USA), Cameron Smith (Australia), Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), and Patrick Cantlay (USA) maintained their positions from 1st to 4th. Jon Rahm (Spain) pushed Xander Schauffele (USA) down to 6th and rose to 5th place. Will Zalatoris (USA), the winner of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, jumped from 14th to 9th. Among Asian players, Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) held the highest ranking at 16th. For Korea, Lee Kyung-hoon (31) is 45th, and Kim Si-woo (27) is 63rd.