KPGA: 387 Players Changed Names, Accounting for 5.5%
KLPGA: 403 Players Changed Names, Making Up 14%
Changing Only the Number After the Name Also Counts as a Name Change
Hwang Jeong-mi (24) lifted her first-ever winner's trophy last September at the KG·Edaily Ladies Open on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour. It was an achievement she earned in her 65th tournament since debuting on the KLPGA Tour in 2020. Until 2016, she competed under the name ‘Hwang Yeo-gyeong’ in tournaments held by the Korea Middle and High School Golf Federation and as a recommended player in four KLPGA regular tour events, but when her results fell short of expectations, she changed her name. As she hoped, saying, "I changed my name to ‘Jeong-mi’ with the goal of winning," she finally realized her dream.
In the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA), Kim Tae-hoon (38) is a representative player who benefited from changing his name. In 2008, he changed his name from Kim Beom-sik. Since then, he has won four times on the KPGA Korean Tour and in 2020, he claimed the Genesis Award and the prize money king title. This season, he is on the verge of reaching 200 tournament appearances, symbolizing consistency on the Korean Tour. He had participated in 180 tournaments until last year. With 25 tournaments scheduled this year, achieving this record is highly likely. In other sports as well, there are many cases where athletes changed their names hoping for a fresh start after injuries or poor performance, and domestic men’s and women’s golf is no different.
According to the KPGA and KLPGA as of this month, a total of 790 members of the entire association have changed their names. The rate of name changes is higher among female players. Among 2,886 total KLPGA members, 403 have changed their names, accounting for 14%. Among this season’s card holders, 7 players have changed their names. In the KPGA, out of approximately 7,000 members, 387 (5.5%) have changed their names. Among them, 9 are card holders this season.
Changing names is not only for the goal of winning but also to improve physical health and mental strength. Kim Cho-yeon (28) changed her name from Kim Do-yeon3 with the determination to become the best without being hindered by injuries. She said, "I feel that through changing my name, I have gained a better constitution and stronger stamina." Park Seo-jin (24) is an exceptional case who chose a new name despite winning twice under her previous name ‘Park Gyo-rin.’ The reason was that she received a good name after consulting a fortune-teller, considering her career as a player and retirement in the long term.
A fortune-teller said, "We first look at the person’s fortune who wants to change their name, then choose the appropriate Chinese characters and stroke order, and finally create a name that fits their destiny."
Even if the Korean name remains the same, changing the number attached to the name is also classified as a name change. The KLPGA assigns Arabic numerals in order of membership registration when there are players with the same name among regular members. Lee Ji-hyun (21), ranked 5th in this season’s regular tour seed ranking, changed the number attached to her name from 6 to 7. Kim Min-seon (20), also a regular tour card holder, changed her number from 6 to 7. They expected the effect of the number symbolizing luck. Some changed the number 4 to 5.
A KLPGA official explained, "Due to the negative perception of the number 4, it is common for players who receive that number among those with the same name to change it to a different number."
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