AJGA member Sang Ha Park is getting a taste of professional golf this week as he competes in the Korean PGA TOUR's Hyundai Marine Choi Kyoung-ju Invitational. Park received an exemption into the event after winning the 2018 KJ Choi Foundation Junior Championship presented by SK Telecom .
Park also played in the KJ Choi AJGA event off an exemption as one of several players Choi brought over from his home country of Korea. Park holed 15 birdies and two eagles to finish the tournament at 12-under-par 204 and take his first-career victory in his first AJGA start. The 18-year-old’s wire-to-wire win was what earned him the exemption into the Korean PGA TOUR event taking place this week. Choi has hosted the Korean PGA TOUR for several years.
The KJ Choi and the KJ Choi Foundation have committed to hosting an AJGA tournament in the northeast for the next five years in an effort to provide playing opportunities for junior golfers from around the world, including opportunities specifically to players from Asia.
“I am both thrilled and honored to be able to host a national junior golf tournament in the United States," Choi said. "My hope is that this tournament serves as an opportunity and a platform for elite junior golfers from around the world, especially those from Asia, to showcase their talent and compete against global peers. Through competition, I would like these young golfers to improve and excel their skillsets, fulfill their dreams by earning college golf scholarships, and to one day make their debuts on the PGA/LPGA Tours. On behalf of the KJ Choi Foundation, I would like to thank the AJGA for supporting this exciting partnership, and to our title sponsor SK Telecom for making this tournament come to life.”