Jenny Shin was nine when her family left Seoul for America, and she has been living between two golf worlds ever since. So when Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee asked on X why South Korea and Japan dominate women’s golf, Shin could answer from experience. And she did it in a long, detailed post.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Chamblee had pointed to the Rolex rankings. They show 30 South Koreans and 25 Japanese players inside the top 100, compared with just 12 Americans. He questioned why the country with the most money and facilities was falling so far behind.
Shin’s reply did not start with golf. It started with the foundations.
“There are fundamental differences in mentality and upbringing between Western and Asian cultures. Reasons stated above are only a fraction of it all.”
“Women’s golf in both Korea and Japan is extremely popular, much more popular than their men’s tour. Spectators are massive. It’s broadcast all day on TV. Many KLPGA tour pros can’t even walk around in Korea without being stopped or recognized.”
“In the US, we struggle to get people to watch us on TV, let alone in person. Mostly because it’s not broadcasted enough or talked about enough.”
It is an answer a rankings list cannot give. In 2021, the USGA noted that Korea’s women’s tour had more events, bigger crowds, better ratings, and stronger sponsors than the men’s tour. Reuters found a similar pattern in Japan in 2017. Chamblee has also made this point about the American game. Earlier this year, he said the LPGA should not have to finish its events against the PGA Tour on Sundays.
For context, this is how Chamblee laid out his numbers: “South Korea has 30 players in the top 100 Rolex world rankings. Japan has 25. The USA has just 12 and only one (Nelly Korda) in the top 19.”
He then compared the figures by population. South Korea has 16.5 times as many top-100 women per person as the U.S., while Japan has 5.8 times as many. He also highlighted America’s advantages, from wealth and junior programs to college golf and coaching. Chamblee plans to discuss the puzzle on Golf Central during the CME Group Tour Championship, November 19-22, in Naples, Florida. He will also address the U.S. Ryder Cup struggles. But his sharpest point was about the men:
“If Korean and Japanese women’s success were explained entirely by discipline, national culture, or practice habits, we might expect a comparable degree of dominance among their men. We don’t see that.”
The question comes at a good moment. Japanese players have won five of the last 15 majors over the past three years. Japan’s Yuri Yoshida also recently claimed her first LPGA title at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.
Shin’s explanation went beyond the popularity of the sport. She also pointed to the expectations placed on young golfers in Korea:
“Our culture isn’t ‘do what makes you happy.’ It’s ‘do this and you will be happy once you excel.’ Many golfers in Korea start at a very young age and are stuck doing this sport until they succeed. Only a small percentage succeeds.”
The Difference in Perspective
That mindset also shapes how Korean golf develops its players. Se Ri Pak’s 1998 U.S. Women’s Open win lit the fuse. Since then, the KLPGA’s Jump, Dream, and main tours have provided a pathway for players to develop before reaching the LPGA. Pak has also said Korean golfers face no time limits on training.
Mandatory military service adds another difference, particularly on the men’s side. South Korean men must serve roughly 18 to 21 months unless they win an Olympic medal or Asian Games gold. Sang-moon Bae left the PGA Tour in 2015 to serve. Reports say he was never quite the same afterward. Just last month, Tom Kim won Asian Games gold in Japan on October 3 and avoided that fate. Teammate S.H. Kim missed out.
Players have also weighed in on the contrast between the men’s and women’s games. Inbee Park has said Korean players practice more. Ai Miyazato, meanwhile, credits Japan’s popularity to wins by Nasa Hataoka and Ayaka Furue. On the men’s side, Hideki Matsuyama remains Japan’s lone major star, with no successor in sight, according to Nippon.com.
For Shin, 2026 has been a turnaround year. She claimed her second LPGA title at the Scottish Open, following her Texas Shootout win in 2016. Now, she has joined one of golf’s biggest debates, too.