The brown bear that really made it to the PGA Tour, which is a true fantasy of gold, had a lot of difficulties
Oct 17, 2025
|
Is there any other case where this word can fit so well.
'Bull bear' Lee Seung-taek is back. With my dream PGA Tour card.
Lee Seung-taek shot a 1-under 71 with four birdies and three bogeys in the first round of the KPGA Tour The Charity Classic held at Seowon Valley CC in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on the 16th.
Of course, the most important thing for a professional is his grades, and he has to do his best in every tournament, but Lee Seung-taek is bound to be happy even if he did not make it to the top. Just before participating in the tournament, he finished the US Conferry Tour in 13th place in the prize money rankings and won the PGA Tour card next year. Lee Seung-taek is the first player to enter the Conferry Tour while playing on the KPGA stage and advance to the PGA stage. I couldn't help but get a lot of congratulations.
The following is a Q&A with Lee Seung-taek who returned to Korea.
- It's been a long time since I participated in a KPGA Tour tournament. I came here after confirming my entry into the PGA Tour? If you look back on today's game?
▶First of all, I'm happy to play in Korea after November last year. It was a pleasant day. It's been a while since I played, so I had a hard time adjusting to the grass. It was a little hard to figure out the slope of the green. I couldn't see Lai well. (laughs)
- Congratulations on your entry into the PGA Tour. During my conference tour, I can tell you nowIs there anything that does '? You didn't jump directly into the US stage, but you jumped into a new stage after a long time on the KPGA Tour?
▶In fact, there were a lot of difficulties in the beginning. It was not easy to adapt, such as travel distance, language, and food. I had a lot of worries about how to overcome these things. First of all, I thought I should interact a lot with the players on the tour. This is because golf in the United States and golf in Korea are all the same. Looking back on his life in the Conferry Tour, he made good use of what he had learned from the KPGA Tour. How to establish a game strategy and course management acquired while playing on the KPGA Tour were of great help. I think I've grown day by day. This was the driving force behind the conference tour.
- What food did you want to eat the most on the flight back home after confirming your entry into the PGA Tour?
▶If I tell you everything I want to eat, I don't think it will be over within today. (Food) The American food itself was difficult, and I had to go to a big city to eat Korean food. I like Korean food the most. (laughs)
- I met a lot of my colleagues who were active together on the KPGA Tour at this tournament. Did you get a lot of congratulations? And have you heard from Kim Si-woo, who is the same age?
▶First of all, a lot of my fellow players congratulated me at this tournament. I was glad. There was also someone who told me to achieve a bigger dream. At that time, I felt emotional and new. Kim Si-woo also contacted me. I was also surprised that the 'star player' contacted me directly. (laughs)
- How did you try to get close to the players on the Conferry Tour? Are you studying English?
▶ I studied English hard. While talking to a player, I studied things I didn't understand today in the evening and went back to that player the next day to write them down. As a result, we became close enough to go to a Korean restaurant that sells Korean food together. Foreign players really liked soju. (laughs)
|
▶I practiced on Monday as well. I had no choice but to practice even on days when there was no competition. Because all the competition courses are where the first round is played, I had to practice.
- How did you adjust to jet lag while moving from the US?
▶In the beginning, I didn't have any players to ask, so I tried a lot of things on my own, but all I had to do was exercise hard and sleep quickly. (laughs)
- I think there will be more players who dream of challenging Lee Seung-taek. What do you think is a must-have for these things?
▶First of all, I think the KPGA Tour players' shots are already good enough. However, in the case of the U.S. tournament course, it is quite difficult and difficult to play around the green. In Korea, there are not many environments where you can practice in such situations. As a result, imagination does not increase. I came to America and practiced so much in this environment. As a result, confidence rose.
- How many tournaments will you play on the PGA Tour in the 2026 season?
▶I heard it's about 28 to 30 competitions. There are currently some changes and some are undecided, so I don't know exactly. I think my debut game will be 'Sony Open'
- You must have heard a lot about the PGA Tour. What kind of things do you feel you need to prepare?
▶First of all, the biggest thing I felt was that physical strength was important because the travel distance was really long. There were times when it was difficult to endure physically, but other American players were already used to this kind of life since they were young. I will prepare a lot physically. In addition, I think I need to have more iron contact skills and ball striking skills. There was never a time when the wind was not blowing until the final match of the Conferry Tour. In the meantime, the Conferry Tour players showed artistic shots and had high ballistics. The PGA Tour will have a similar environment, so I think we need to use accurate shots.
- Which player's shot do you really want to see on the PGA Tour?
▶This is Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy's shot. I've seen a lot of shots of monstrous players on the Conferry Tour, and I wonder how much they are. In the Conferi Tour, these two players are sometimes described as 'God'. I wonder how different it is from the shots of the players I saw in the Conferry Tour.
- What are your plans for the future?
▶First, he will compete in the '2025 Lexus Masters' as a 'Defending Champion'. After that, I will focus on physical training. He plans to leave the country one month before the opening of the Sony Open and engage in adaptation training.
- What's your goal for the 2026 season?
▶I gained a lot of confidence every time I entered the Top 5 in this year's concert tour. First of all, the goal is to pass the cut in each competition, but I want to enter the top 5 often and my biggest goal is to maintain the seed.
- There's no qualification for a major tournament yet?
▶There will be opportunities as there are qualifying tournaments in several tournaments. I'm going to go for it.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.