'Golf World Woo Young-woo' Lee Seung-min "I Became a Full-time Golfer in China"

13th Place at China Tour Q-School, Secures Full Tour Card
"It was tough, but I feel great about the good result"
"My goal is to keep my tour card next year, too"

‘Golf World’s Woo Young-woo’ Lee Seung-min has become a ‘full-time golfer.’

Lee Seung-min secured a full tour card by finishing 13th at the China Tour Q-School. Photo by Volmedia

Lee Seung-min’s management company, Ball Media, announced on the 24th that Lee Seung-min secured a full tour card for the China Tour. He ranked 13th at the 2025 China Tour Q-School held from the 17th to the 23rd at The Dunes at Sanzhou Peninsula in Hainan, China. He secured a full tour card awarded to the top 40 players.

Lee Seung-min said, "It was really tough playing 4 rounds in the first stage and 5 rounds in the second stage of the China Tour Q-School. Especially, the weather in Hainan was cold, and the rain and wind made the competition difficult." He added, "I caught a cold in the middle and had a hard time, but my caddie, Seulgi Yoon, helped me a lot, so I was able to finish safely. I’m very happy and feel great to finish with a good result."

Regarding his future plans, he said, "There will be more than 25 tournaments on the 2025 China Tour. I will work hard to maintain my tour card next year as well." He continued, "The SK Telecom Open in May and the Hana Bank Invitational in June are sponsor tournaments, and I want to deliver good results to meet expectations."

Lee Seung-min is the only domestic golfer with autism spectrum disorder on tour. He earned full membership on the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA) Tour in 2017 and made his first main tournament appearance at the 2018 DB Insurance Promy Open. He has gained tournament experience through KPGA Tour recommendation qualifications and changed perceptions of autism spectrum disorder by winning the inaugural US Adaptive Open hosted by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in 2022 as the first champion.

Lee Seung-min earned his spot on the KPGA Tour through re-ranking and has consistently sought opportunities on overseas stages. Last year, he won a tournament hosted by the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA), rising to 2nd place in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disabilities (WR4GD). Lee plans to participate in the US Adaptive Open and the Australian All Ability Championship, where he holds champion titles. He said, "I will work hard to win on both the KPGA Tour and the US Adaptive Open."