Ranked 404th in the world when he finished joint fifth in January’s SMBC Singapore Open, part of The Open Qualifying Series. Four spots at Royal; Portrush were there for the taking, but joint runner-up Paul Casey and fourth-placed Matthew Fitzpatrick were already exempt.
It will be my major debut and I am really excited,” he said. “It’s amazing. I have been wanting to play in a major championship ever since I started playing golf, so my dream finally came true. I haven’t been to the United Kingdom before. We have some links course in Korea, but I think it’s pretty different.” Winner of the Korean Tour’s KPGA Championship last year, when he beat compatriot Changwon Han in a play-off after starting the week with a superb 63. Twice a runner-up on the circuit as well and has had six other top five finishes.
Made his PGA Tour debut at last October’s CJ Cup in his home country – his fourth place on the Korean Tour standings at the time earned him a place - and made the halfway cut in the event that saw Brooks Koepka win and become world No 1 for the first time.