Professional athletes will be able to compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games (AG). At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang AG, only amateur athletes were allowed to compete, but the door has been opened for professional athletes.

Expectations are high for the Korean men’s golf team. Lim Sung-jae (25-World No. 27) and Kim Si-woo (28-40), who both play on the United States Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour, have joined the team. Kim has proven himself on the world stage with four career wins and Lim has two. They have the highest tour rankings of any player on the Hangzhou AG roster.

However, the team cannot be considered the strongest based on these two players alone. They are backed by their younger brother, who is proving to be ‘as good as his older brother’. Jo Woo-young (22) and Jang Yoo-bin (21), who have been making waves on the Korean Men’s Professional Golf (KPGA) Tour this season as the ‘amateur catching the pro’, are expected to strike gold in the AG.

As amateurs, the two have proven their prowess by winning on the professional stage. After winning side-by-side on the second-tier Srixon Tour earlier this year (Jang Yoo-bin in the first, Cho Woo-young in the second), both players have also risen to the top of their respective regular tours, which are specially organized for AGs to improve their game. Cho won the Golf Zone Open in Jeju in April, while Jang lifted the trophy at the Gunsan CC Open in August.

It is the first time in 10 years that an amateur has won two titles on the KPGA Korean Tour in the same year since Lee Soo-min (Gunsan CC Open) and Lee Chang-woo (Dongbu Fire PromiOpen) in 2013. Since then, both players have continued to maintain top-tier results, raising expectations for the AG.

The men’s golf team, which has built a “golden generation” thanks to the growth of the two players, will look to win its first AG gold medal in 13 years. The Korean men’s golf team swept the individual and team titles at the 2010 Guangzhou AG, but settled for no gold in the next two tournaments. With two world-class older brothers on the PGA Tour and a younger brother cruising through the professional ranks, the hopes for gold are high.먹튀검증

“I think (the professional tours I’ve played so far) are a warm-up for the AG,” Cho said. To win a gold medal at the AG, it is important to manage my physical fitness, and I will prepare well for the competition.” Jang Yubin also said, “I will try to do as well as possible at the AG. My older brothers are very good and I trust them, so I just need to do well. I want to play without regrets,” he said, vowing to perform well at the AG.