Andy DevaneySungjae Im will return to South Korea in October for The Genesis Championship, giving the tournament its most recognisable home draw so far as it prepares for a tenth edition with rather more at stake than another large cheque and a polite handshake on Sunday evening.
The two-time PGA TOUR winner joins defending champion Junghwan Lee at Woo Jeong Hills from 22-25 October, with a US$4 million prize fund and a field split between the KPGA TOUR and DP World Tour.
A homecoming with history attached
Im is not merely dropping by for the scenery. He won this event in 2019, a victory that carried extra weight because it was his first on home soil. Now listed as World Number 57 in the tournament announcement, he returns as both former champion and the obvious crowd magnet.
“I’m very excited to play on home soil again later this year,” said Im. “The fans are incredibly supportive and there is always a great atmosphere. We are looking forward to the test that Woo Jeong Hills presents us in October.”
That last point matters. Home support is useful, but Woo Jeong Hills is not in the habit of handing out sentimental favours. Im knows the place, knows the attention that follows him in Korea and, perhaps more importantly, knows what winning there feels like.
“I have special memories of my win at the Genesis Championship in 2019, not least because it was my first victory on home soil.
“I’m looking forward to reconnecting with the fans again and hopefully have a good performance for them.”
The Genesis Championship now carries wider consequences
The event was first played in 2017, but its significance has changed considerably since it became co-sanctioned by the KPGA TOUR and DP World Tour in 2024. It now sits at the end of the DP World Tour’s Back 9 and serves as the final regular-season event before the Play-Offs.
That gives the week a useful edge. For some players, the conversation will be about winning. For others, it will be about keeping a job.
The top 100 in the Race to Dubai standings secure playing rights for the following DP World Tour season, and the Genesis Championship is the last chance to get inside that line. Golf can be wonderfully genteel until somebody’s card is on the line.
A 126-player field with two tours in the same room
This year’s field will contain 126 players: 36 from the KPGA TOUR and 90 from the DP World Tour. More names are due to be announced, but Im and defending champion Lee already give the Korean contingent two obvious focal points.
The composition also explains why the event matters beyond the trophy. The tournament is designed as part of the strategic partnership between the KPGA TOUR and DP World Tour, giving Korean players a direct competitive setting alongside an international field.
That pathway is easy to dress up in corporate language. The simpler version is better: play well here and more people beyond Korea are likely to notice.
Ten editions in, the event has found its place
The tenth Genesis Championship arrives with a clearer identity than the tournament had at launch. It is Korea’s largest international golf event, carries a US$4 million purse and now occupies a pressure point on the DP World Tour calendar rather than merely another date on it.
Genesis, the title partner, also has a wider presence in elite golf through the Genesis Invitational and Genesis Scottish Open, while supporting other events and programmes in both international and Korean golf. The commercial footprint is broad; this week, though, the sporting story is more interesting.
Im’s return gives the championship a player with history, local pull and unfinished business of the most agreeable kind. Lee arrives with the trophy. Im arrives with the memory of one.
At Woo Jeong Hills, that is more than enough to make October feel crowded already.
