Mo Joong-kyung (; born 23 August 1971) is a

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

who currently plays on the

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...

, where he has won twice.

Early life

Mo was born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

and turned professional in 1995.

Professional career

After turning professional in 1995, Mo decided to stay and play mainly in South Korea to be close to his family. He has won five events on the

Korean Tour The Korean Tour is a men's professional golf tour run by the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) of South Korea. In 2011, it had total prize money of about US$14 million. Professional golf in Korea dates back to the mid 20th century. ...

, with his best year coming in 2004, which was the first year he earned six figures in season-long earnings. Mo has also had some success on the

. He won the

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Guam Open by three strokes over three players. In

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

he finished a distant runner-up to

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

at the Asian Honda Classic. He maintained full-time status for many years afterwards but would not win again until the 2008

Singha Thailand PGA Championship Singha ( th, สิงห์; RTGS: ''Sing'') is a pale lager beer manufactured in Thailand by the Singha Corporation Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of its parent company, Boon Rawd Brewery. Singha was first brewed in 1933, and in 1939 officially endo ...

. He defeated seasoned campaigners

Juvic Pagunsan Juvic Pagunsan (born 11 May 1978) is a professional golfer from the Philippines who plays on the Japan Golf Tour and the Asian Tour. He won the 2007 Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational on the Asian Tour and the 2021 Gateway to The Open ...

and hometown favorite

Prayad Marksaeng Prayad Marksaeng ( th, ประหยัด มากแสง; born 30 January 1966) is a Thai professional golfer. Career Prayad was a member of Thailand's winning golf team at the 1987 South East Asian Games and turned professional in 1991. ...

down the stretch giving him the biggest victory of his career. He credited the victory to his hard work and self-belief in

Chiang Rai Chiang Rai ( th, เชียงราย, ; nod, , เจียงฮาย, ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai ...

. Later in the year he recorded a top-10 at the

Volvo Masters of Asia The Volvo Masters of Asia was the final event of the season on golf's Asian Tour until 2008. It was first played in 2002 and the field was originally restricted to the top 60 players on the Asian Tour's Order of Merit, increasing to 65 in the fin ...

. Overall 2008 would be his most successful year on the Asian Tour. Mo represented Asia in 2005 in the

Dynasty Cup Dynasty Cup was an East Asian international association football tournament. The tournament was held every 2 or 3 years. It was hosted by Beijing in 1990 and 1992, Hong Kong in 1995, Yokohama and Tokyo in 1998. In 2002 the East Asian Football F ...

where he and his Asian team were victorious.

Personal life

Mo currently resides in his place of birth

with his wife and one child.

Professional wins (7)

Asian Tour wins (2)

Asian Tour playoff record (0–1)

Korean Tour wins (5)

Team appearances

Alfred Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championshi ...

(representing South Korea):

(representing Asia): 2005 (winners)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mo, Joong-kyung South Korean male golfers Asian Tour golfers 1971 births Living people