Professional golfers, both men and women, will be able to compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games this year.
While only amateurs were allowed to compete at the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, Jakarta, the door is now open for professionals.
The golf competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games will be held at the West Lake International Golf Course in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, starting on Aug. 28.
Korea’s men’s team is comprised of amateurs Cho Woo-young and Jang Yubin, along with Lim Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo, who play on the U.S. Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour.메이저놀이터
The women’s team will be led by high school players Lim Ji-yu, Yoo Hyun-jo, and Kim Min-sol, with no professionals.
According to MyInfo, the information site for the Hangzhou Asian Games, the golf roster for the event will be dominated by South Korea on the men’s side and China on the women’s side.
On the men’s side, India, with Anirban Lahiri and Shubhankar Sharma, and Thailand, with Pachara Kongwatmai and Phum Saksansin, will be the top two contenders.
Lahiri and Sharma have two wins apiece on the European Tour, while Kongwatmai was the runner-up in a playoff at the Shinhan Donghae Open earlier this month.
Other more recognizable names include host China’s Wu Xiaun, two-time Asian Tour winner Siddhiker Rahman (Bangladesh), and Daichi Ko (Hong Kong), who played in this year’s Shinhan Donghae Open.
Kim Si-woo and Lim Sung-jae, who have four and two wins on the PGA Tour, are superior in terms of experience and skill. Cho Woo-young and Jang Yubin have also been on the rise this year, with one win each on the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour.
The women’s field is dominated by Chinese players, led by current world No. 1 Yin Lunying.
In addition to Yin, the team includes world No. 12 Lin Shiyu and Liu Yu, who finished runner-up at the Lotte Championship on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour in April.
With the home-course advantage, the Chinese players are expected to perform well in terms of world rankings and experience.
Other notable players on the LPGA Tour include Jen Bei-yun (Chinese Taipei) and Aditi Ashok (India).
Thailand, which has been strong on the LPGA Tour in recent years, has P.K. Kongkrapan, who played on the LPGA Tour through 2019, and two amateurs on its roster.
Princess Mary Superal (Philippines), who won the Simonne Asia Pacific Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia, last August, will also be in action.
Japan, who won both the men’s and women’s individual and team titles at the 2018 Jakarta Palembang, are fielding amateur players in both the men’s and women’s events this year, and their performance could be a factor.