Asian Games Golf Tees Off Sept. 30 With Military Exemptions at Stake

Golf at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games runs from Sept. 30 through Oct. 3 on the East Course (par 70) at Kasugai Country Club in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

South Korea's men's team consists of three professionals: Moon Do-yeop, Kim Sung-hyun and Kim Joo-hyung. The women's team fields three amateurs: Park Seo-jin of Seomun Girls' High School, Kim Gyu-bin of Haksan Girls' High School and Yang Yun-seo of Incheon Girls' Affiliated Broadcasting and Correspondence High School.

For the men, the Asian Games are directly tied to military service benefits. Moon has completed his service obligation, but Kim Sung-hyun and Kim Joo-hyung have yet to serve, making a gold medal critical for both. At the 2022 Hangzhou Games, Kim Si-woo, Im Sung-jae, Jang Yu-bin and Cho Woo-young combined to win team gold and resolved their service obligations.

Kim Joo-hyung, who plays on the U.S. PGA Tour, left the Presidents Cup in Chicago, Illinois, on the 28th (Korea time) after finishing his own match on the final day, departing before the winning team had been decided. He did so to catch a Sunday afternoon flight from Chicago to Japan, local time.

In an interview with NBC Sports that day, Kim said he was honored to have the chance to represent something bigger than himself, adding that playing for something larger than the individual — whether the International Team or his country — is something to be grateful for. Kim has been in top form, posting a 4-1 record at the Presidents Cup.

Kim Sung-hyun's need is even greater. Also a PGA Tour player, he was denied an extension of his overseas travel permit because of his military service obligation and returned to Korea in April after the permit was denied. If he fails to win gold this time, he must begin his service immediately.

Rivals for the South Korean men include Keita Nakajima of Japan, who tied for third at the PGA Tour's Genesis Scottish Open; Kazuki Higa of Japan, last year's Asian Tour money leader; and Sadom Kaewkanjana of Thailand, who won last year's Korea Open.

The three amateurs on the women's team are determined to make up for the disappointment of settling for team silver at the Hangzhou Games. Yang Yun-seo, this year's Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship winner, is quietly targeting individual gold as well.

Their rivals include LPGA Tour players Yin Ruoning and Liu Yan of China and Arpichaya Yubol of Thailand, as well as former world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan.

Golf offers four gold medals across men's and women's individual and team events. Individual standings are decided by four-round totals, while team medals are determined by combining, for each country, the scores of its two best performers in each round of the individual competition.