Explain this to me

cpa49707 · February 25, 2006

LPGA v PGA

Last night I was watching the second round of the LPGA Fields Open on the Golf Channel. I was wondering why there are so many Asian players on the LPGA but there are very few on the PGA tour. I'm sure there are some great male golfers in Asia, but how come they have not ventured to America like the women have.

Thanks

Terry

Gxgolfer · February 25, 2006

The Korean contigent on the LPGA is particularly strong. There was a story that explains this some years back. I can't remember the details but, a few top instructors went there to start programs in Korea and this is a result of their work. If anyone can expand/explain more details in the depth, it would be a great refresher.

Johnny · February 25, 2006

I think it's pretty tough culture and language wise... that's why you have to hand it to ppl like KJ..

Why comeover when you can be a star in asia and live very well..

animalistic · February 25, 2006

The Korean contigent on the LPGA is particularly strong. There was a story that explains this some years back. I can't remember the details but, a few top instructors went there to start programs in Korea and this is a result of their work. If anyone can expand/explain more details in the depth, it would be a great refresher.

cool......if any1 has info about this id love to hear it...always wondered how and why the koreans and asians have swarmed the LPGA and pretty much started dominating[even MW's dad and mom are Korean!!]

slicefixer · February 25, 2006

Number of reasons.......

Its MUCH easier for an Asian FEMALE to compete on the LPGA Tour than it is for an Asian MALE player to compete on the PGA Tour.......in the women's game "power" is a HUGE advantage.......on the men's tour its a prerequisite......The Asians, as a rule, are not nearly as powerful as players from other parts of the wold.......

TOTALLY different game in Asia.......courses are shorter......grass is GRAINY......more of an accuracy/short game competition.......results, a different "style" of play that isn't as successful here in America....the Asian game translates better to the European Tour than our tour......kids grow up playing a game thats less dependant upon power......

Asian men's tour is a nice tour with decent purses.......the Japanese Tour is a VERY good tour (allbeit a bit of a "closed shop" to foreigners) with excellent purses..........and the women's game in Asia isn't nearly as lucrative......

AS a result, there isn't nearly as much motivation for a male player to go through the "culture" shock of attempting to compete here in the USA as there is for a female player.......

Gxgolfer · February 25, 2006

Here is the GolfDigest Article from April 04.

Click for Article>>>Here

By Tom Callahan
Golf Digest
April 2004

Journeys to Korea don't usually start just outside Rochester, N.Y., but this one does. It's mid-June. The Ladies Professional Golf Association has pitched camp in Pittsford, a leafy little Christmas-train-set city that, from the head of Jefferson Road to the foot of the Locust Hill Country Club, is a perfectly idealized version of the typical American town. As the sun is going down on the tournament's opening day, the center of activity is the driving range.

Mi Hyun Kim is hitting balls. Se Ri Pak, who has finished hitting them, helpfully points her out to a visitor: "That's Kimmie." That's Hee-Won Han. That's Soo-Yun Kang. That's Jeong Jang. That's Young-A Yang. That's Ara Koh. That's Minny Yeo. That's Jimin Kang. "That's Gloria Park," Se Ri says, "and her dad, Steven."

Under a nearby tree, just a few moments earlier, Grace Park had responded to the inevitable question -- why so many Korean women, so few Korean men? -- by laughing like a Gatling gun and trilling like Beverly Sills, "Because women are better than men! Stronger and better!" Not until you get to Seoul will you find out she wasn't kidding...more

Gxgolfer · February 25, 2006

KJ can barely speak english

What does that have to do with the topic???

GLL · February 25, 2006

I've also heard that compulsary service requirements for men in Korea takes them away at the prime of their development.

pargolfer · February 25, 2006

I've always wondered about that.

On the PGA Tour, the big guys have been KJ and Shigeki. Kevin Na has been showing some game, Hidemichi Tanaka has had a few flashes. But there hasn't been many guys that have stuck around.

On the LPGA, it's been completely the opposite. Asian players in general have had a huge presence. The playoff today was between two Asian players. Grace Park has been one of the players that has been pursuing Annika. It just seems kinda odd that there is such an imbalance between the men and the women.

slicefixer · February 26, 2006

You can "bump"/"chip" it around on the LPGA Tour and be competitive.......NOT on the PGA Tour.......gotta' be capable of "carrying" the ball 280........VERY few Asian's can do that.......the MAJORITY of the PGA Tour can carry it that far or MUCH further.......the Asian player is at a HUGE disadvantage.....NOT many Freddie Funk's out there......;)

Johnny · February 26, 2006

and that's why I have to hand it too ppl like KJ...moving over here to Texas and getting it done on the PGA tour... you have to respect that....

Dont say things like "KJ can barely speak english" and leave it at that...you can easily be missquoted and misunderstood.

GolferGal2009 · February 26, 2006

Maybe golf is the ticket for these girls to get out of South Korea. I mean with that whole "demilitarized zone" it's pretty intense. If they can get to the LPGA tour, why not? You see Ai Miyazato from Japan, winning 12 times on the JLPGA tour and being a superstar there but she still comes to America.

slicefixer · February 26, 2006

I'm NOT saying you cannot win hitting it less than 280 in the air.......what I AM saying is your at a significant DISADVANTAGE if you can't.......;)

And the statistics your sighting are quite a bit "skewed" due to players quite often NOT hitting driver.......they hit 3 woods all the time and on occasions hybrids/long irons........

I'll promise you that the average PGA Tour player now can CARRY the ball 280 as an average over the course of a year.......are they going to do it at sea level.......nope.......at Castle Pines.......probably 20 more........when they hit driver @ Castle Pines which a lot of them don't all that much anymore........thats why fairway bunkers @ 280 aren't any big deal for a ton of em' anymore........they just blow it right over them without a thought......and the player who can't has to play AROUND the bunker .....or short of the bunker......or on the safe side of the bunker.......which necessitates a MUCH longer approach, etc.......significant disadvantage......putt like Faxon and it makes up for it though.....but how many can/do.....;)