Golfer with mental obstacle makes tour debut

Golfer Lee Seung-min / Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

By Nam Hyun-woo

Lee Seung-min, a golfer suffering from autistic development disorder, made his debut on Korea’s professional golf tour, raising hopes that more athletes can overcome mental and physical obstacles to jump into competition.

According to Hana Financial Group that sponsors the young golfer, Lee made his tour debut at the KPGA Caido Golden V1 Open last week.

Lee earned his right to join the tour after sitting at No. 10 in a qualifier on June 2. He competed at the Caido Open by invitation.

Although he failed to make the cut after recording 72 and 76 in the first two rounds at the par-72 course, Lee said that he could not be happier.

“I’ll turn 20 on Tuesday and it would be the happiest birthday that anybody could have,” Lee said. “I am very happy to play on a tour event and I will always be a humble and hard-working player.”

Lee signed the sponsorship contract with Hana Financial Group last year, when he was an associate member of the KPGA. His mother named Park Ji-ae said that the sponsorship became a turning point for Lee to be more committed to golf.

“After the sponsorship, Lee became very much responsible for his play,” Park said. “When he had disappointing performances, he was concerned that he might lose his sponsorship. He is very proud of the contract.”

Hana Financial said they are striving for an extension of the contract with Lee in order to provide more systematic and organized support for him.

“Lee’s tour debut is great news,” said the Hana Financial Group sports marketing team leader Paul Park. “Lee’s debut is spreading a positive message not only to the group but also to society. The group will save no efforts to support Lee to stand as a remarkable player.”

Park noted that Hana Financial has been focusing on supporting athletes that have talent and potential for growth. Under this principle, its sponsorship also covers athletes from multicultural families or those who are physically challenged.

LPGA golfers such as 2016 Blue Bay LPGA winner Lee Min-ji, 2013 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic winner Park Hee-young and 2017 ShopRite LPGA Classic winner Kim In-kyung were supported by the group when they were rookies. Now, they play on the LPGA tour.