GOLFERS from South Korea

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary South Korean Golfers of all time. This list of famous South Korean Golfers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Pak Se-ri (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 36.91, Pak Se-ri is the most famous South Korean Golfer.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Pak Se-ri or Se-ri Pak (Korean: 박세리, Korean pronunciation: [paːk seːɾi]; born 28 September 1977) is a South Korean former professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour from 1998 to 2016. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.

2. Inbee Park (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 32.78, Inbee Park is the 2nd most famous South Korean Golfer.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Inbee Park (Korean: 박인비; Hanja: 朴仁妃, pronounced [pɐɡinbi] or [pɐk̚] [inbi]; born 12 July 1988) is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour. She has been the number one ranked player in the Women's World Golf Rankings for four separate runs: April 2013 to June 2014, October 2014 to February 2015, June 2015 to October 2015, and from April to July 2018. Park has won seven major championships in her career, including three consecutive major wins during the 2013 season, becoming only the fourth LPGA Tour player to win three majors in a calendar year. She is the youngest player to win the U.S. Women's Open and the second player, after Annika Sorenstam, to win the Women's PGA Championship three years in a row. Park is only the seventh player to win four different majors during her career and capture a career Grand Slam. In 2016, she won the first Olympic gold medal since 1900 in the women's individual tournament. Park has endorsement deals with KB Financial Group, Srixon, Panasonic, Lynx, Jeju Samdasoo & Mercedes-Benz.

3. Lydia Ko (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 24.82, Lydia Ko is the 3rd most famous South Korean Golfer.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Lydia Ko (born 24 April 1997) is a New Zealand professional golfer and the reigning Olympic champion. She first reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings on 2 February 2015 at 17 years, 9 months and 9 days of age, making her the youngest player of either gender to be ranked No. 1 in professional golf. Ko had much success from an early age holding many youngest accolades on the LPGA Tour. Until 2017, she was the youngest ever (age 15) to win an LPGA Tour event. In August 2013, she became the only amateur to win two LPGA Tour events. Upon winning The Evian Championship in France on 13 September 2015, she became the youngest woman, at age 18 years, 4 months and 20 days, to win a major championship. Her closing round of 63 was a record lowest final round in the history of women's golf majors, but she lowered that record with a 62 at the 2021 ANA Inspiration. She had previously won the ANA Inspiration on 3 April 2016 for her second consecutive major championship, where she also became the youngest player to win two women's major championships. In 2014, Ko was named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people. In both 2014 and 2015, Ko was named in the EspnW Impact25 list of 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest impact for women in sports. In 2016, Ko was named Young New Zealander of the Year, and in the 2019 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to golf. In November 2022, Ko won the CME Group Tour Championship with its $2 million first-place prize, completing the LPGA Tour season with three wins, the LPGA Player of the Year award for the second time in her career, the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average, the 2022 leading money winner, and rose to number two in the Women's World Golf Rankings. In August 2024, she won the gold medal in women's golf at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, a victory that qualified her for the LPGA Hall of Fame, the 35th and youngest inductee at age 27. Combined with her bronze medal from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and silver medal from the Rio 2016 Olympics, she attained the complete set of Olympic medals, becoming the first golfer in the modern era to achieve all three medals at three different Olympic Games. Ko is a player director on the LPGA Board.