KOBE — Song Young-han, 35, Lee Sang-hee, 34, and Ryu Hyun-woo, 45, have something in common. All three hold Korean citizenship, yet all three are playing in the 42nd Shinhan Donghae Open, with a total purse of 1.5 billion won, as representatives of Japan rather than Korea.
The trio drew attention as the tournament opened on the 10th at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, a par-72 course in Songdo, Incheon.
The Shinhan Donghae Open was founded by Korean-Japanese businessmen to promote golf in their ancestral homeland and develop players for international competition. In keeping with that mission, it is staged as a Korea-Japan contest featuring the leading players from both tours. The field of 138 includes the top 60 in seeding priority from both the Korea Professional Golfers' Association Tour and the Japan Golf Tour Organization, along with winners from the past five years, high finishers from last year and sponsor invitees.
Song, Lee and Ryu all currently compete on the JGTO and entered this tournament as Japanese representatives through seeding priority. Song, who splits his schedule between LIV Golf and the JGTO, ranks ninth on the JGTO money list this year. Lee, who plays in both Korea and Japan, won the Sansan KBC Augusta tournament on Aug. 30 for his first JGTO title since joining the tour in 2013. He ranks 11th in earnings in Japan this year.
Ryu is a name Korean golf fans will be especially glad to see. He won the KPGA Tour's Player of the Year award on the strength of his 2013 GS Caltex Maekyung Open victory and three runner-up finishes. A two-time KPGA Tour winner, Ryu moved to Japan in 2012 and has claimed two JGTO titles as well, making Japan his main stage since 2014. He returns to Korean courses using his JGTO seeding only for events co-sanctioned by the two tours, such as the Shinhan Donghae Open. He is attached as a professional to Ono Grand Country Club in Ono, Hyogo Prefecture, where he does most of his practice.
Speaking recently at Ono Grand Country Club, Ryu said: "After moving to Japan, I met good people and ended up settling here completely. Hyogo Prefecture and Ono Grand, where I can practice comfortably in a quiet town, are ideal conditions for me." His wife supports their two children, both aspiring golfers, in California.
Ryu has earned more than 3.5 billion won in Japan alone. In his 15th year there, he ranks 10th in driving accuracy and 11th in sand saves, the measure of recording par or better after landing in a bunker. A tie for 12th at The Crowns in May helped lift him to around 60th on the money list. "Given my age and how many good players there are, I'm not going to dominate the tour, but I still have something left," Ryu said. "I'll work to keep my card and keep making my presence felt."
