The 2024 Byron Nelson CJ Cup was played at Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
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South Korea has grown to become one of the the most golf However, nations on earth that rival even the US’s near-viral infatuation with birds and bogeys are only half the story. Here is business, sponsorship and investment flourishes.
It’s a rags-to-riches tale: South Korea, since the war against the North, has catapulted its way from a very poor country to one of great wealth and prosperity. In fact, in 2022, its GDP reached $1.65 trillion, making it the 13th largest economy in the world. Some of that money has been poured into the golf space.
Companies based in South Korea have become some of the game’s most important corporate sponsors. Luxury car manufacturer Genesis, a subsidiary of Seoul-based Hyundai sponsors two events on the calendar, including the Genesis Invitational, hosted by Tiger Woodsand the former Los Angeles Open, which has been a tour stop since 1926. This early-season tune-up event is supported by July’s Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club the week before the Open.
Genesis says golf is a reflection of its values (“respect, integrity and excellence”), but that sponsoring events goes beyond simply reaching a key demographic in countries around the world. It embodies the country’s model of corporate hospitality for honored guests, referred to in Korean as Son-Nim, a title of honor for customers.
Earlier this year, another venerable PGA Tour stop, the Byron Nelson Classic, was renamed the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, reflecting the Korean conglomerate. CJ Group deep entry into sports, which began with the sponsorship of Se-Ri Pak in 2001. Yong Han, in CJ’s sports marketing division, says, “We started with Se-Ri and this was the first international or global marketing campaign of the company.”
The company realized, after supporting women golfers for so long, that it needed to help grow the men’s game as well. They started by sponsoring individual players before hosting the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in 2017. “We’re trying to connect Korean lifestyle and food within the tournament,” says Han. “So we are bringing our flavors to a sports platform by offering the best food they can have on a golf tournament. We brought 14 chefs to the tournament last year to feed the players.” The tour sponsorships are “there to reinforce our marketing strategy, but also to bring the lifestyle of fun, convenience and a fun atmosphere at the same time.”
Seoul’s vibrant golf simulator scene is dominated by Golfzon, but another Korea-based sim maker, uneekor, is distributing many products in the United States, with both top-of-the-line cards and those that most golfers can afford. Companies like Uneekor and others (along with a host of investor backing) have helped launch Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sport venture DATE, will debut in January with Genesis as the league’s first founding partner. TGL, with its club teams based in the city, will look to replicate some of the on-screen golf competition in Korea. “Korean brands like Genesis already embrace our three pillar objectives: incorporating technology, leveraging quality celebrities in sports and providing a unique fan experience,” says Katy Mollica, head of global partnerships at TMRW Sport.
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The premium ball manufacturer based in South Korea is Volvikwhich is best known for its colorful matte finishes and long association with the World Long Drive. This spring, TaylorMade Golf, based in Carlsbad, California, moved production of some of its most popular and Tour models to a factory just a few hours south of Seoul. Private equity and real estate firm Centroid Investment Partners currently owns TaylorMade, having acquired the equipment manufacturing giant in 2011. (Centroid also invests in TM employee ventures Popstroke and Sun Day Red.)
“TaylorMade believes the Korean market is ripe with growth potential,” says David Abeles, CEO of the equipment company. “Korea is the third largest golf market in the world and our business is strong there, but we felt that, through an alliance with Korean investors, we could further enhance and grow our business in a meaningful way globally. And that certainly happened.”
Twenty-three years ago, Titleist was brought under the umbrella of FILA Korea, although it is still owned and operated by the Acushnet company in Fairhaven, Mass. By last July, rumors were swirling in business circles that another Korean firm was poised to buy another of America’s Big Five manufacturing giants.
The Pacific Basin, in general, represents two of golf’s biggest markets, Japan and South Korea, and to break into both of those, from a business perspective, is really to break into the whole world. With the continued popularity of golf, it only makes sense that Korean companies are seeing great opportunities on the game’s biggest stages. They are looking to enter the larger American and European markets. Stay tuned.
