Golfer Park Sung-hyun seals sponsorship deal with Korean Air
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Golfer Park Sung-hyun, left, poses with Korean Air CEO Ji Chang-hoon after signing a sponsorship deal with Korean Air at the carrier’s main office in western Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Sema Sports
By Baek Byung-yeul
Korean golfer Park Sung-hyun will use Korean Air flights for the LPGA Tour events next season.
Park’s agency Sema Sports said Monday the 23-year-old golfer had an “Excellence Program” sponsorship deal with the flagship carrier. With the sponsorship program, Park will be offered free prestige class (business class) flights for a year.
“It is my honor to have sponsorship from one of the world’s renowned carriers, and thanks to the support from Korea Air, I will try my best to display a good performance on the LPGA Tour next season,” said Park.
Ever since launching its “Excellence Program” in 2006, the carrier has provided free flight tickets to renowned athletes, such as Ryu Seung-min, Olympic table tennis champion and the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission member, speed skater Lee Sang-hwa and rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae.
Known for her 265.59 yard average powerful swing, Park is a homegrown golf talent. This year, she displayed her dominance in the Korean LPGA, clinching the most wins with seven. She set a KLPGA money list record with 1.33 billion won ($1.1 million) and also posted the lowest scoring average across the whole season with 69.64 strokes per round.
Park recently declared her bid to compete full-time on the LPGA Tour next season. She played seven LPGA Tour events this year as a nonmember. Though she couldn’t grab a win, she will be eligible for the LPGA Tour membership next year based on her non-member winnings, being equivalent to a top 40 money winner. She earned about $682,825, which ranked her among the top 30 on this past season’s money list.