Why doesn’t this become an annual event? Politics and money of course…
It’s pretty obvious that the goal of many KPGA players is to eventually play abroad with the Japan Tour being the most sought after destination. There has always been a neighbourly rivalry between these two countries, but why not establish an annual event where the top 10 Korean players on or attached to the KPGA Tour compete against the top 10 Korean players dedicated to playing on the Japan Tour? Lets pop Soomin Lee, Siwoo Kim, KJ Choi, Jeunghun Wang and Byeong Hun An onto the KPGA team, seen as they are more affiliated with the KPGA than the JGTO!
If this was to happen, based on this seasons Order of Merits, here’s what the teams would be (factoring in the players Tour preference):
KPGA JGTO
Jinho Choi KT Kim
Changwoo Lee Younghan Song
Hyungjoon Lee Kyoung Hoon Lee
Heungchul Joo Hyun Woo Ryu
Jungho Yoon Jun Won Park
Soomin Lee Sang Hyun Park
Siwoo Kim Hyun Sung Kim
KJ Choi Jung Gon Hwang
Jeunghun Wang Min Gyu Cho
Byeong Hun An Seung Hyuk Kim
Yes, there are some players left out that would be great additions- Byung Min Cho, Sanghee Lee, Taehoon Kim, Kyung Jung Moon etc etc…this is all hypothetical remember!
You cannot say that this would not be a great spectacle to watch, with bragging rights adding extra motivation for the players. But what about money, sponsors, players commitments? Make it a one/two day event over an off weekend and donate proceedings to charities across Korea if needs be. The game is continuing to grow here, but needs to be promoted to coincide with its development. An event like this would be great for the game.
