The Loop

Two more Koreans on verge of joining tour

December 05, 2011

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- South Korea is likely to send two more players to the PGA Tour next year, which would run its number of exports to four in two years.

Last year, Bio Kim and Sunghoon Kang finished in the top 25 in the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament to earn PGA Tour membership.

Now Seung-yul Noh and Sang-Moon Bae are tied for fourth and tied for seventh, respectively in the midst of their final rounds at PGA West. Neither appearing on the leaderboard is particularly surprising.

Last year, while still 18, Noh became the second youngest winner in European Tour history when he won the Maybank Malaysian Open. Bae is ranked 30th in the world.

-- John Strege