Korea in Running for Gold in Men's Golf at Asian Games in Hangzhou

Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo, who play on the U.S. PGA Tour, and amateur golfers Cho Woo-young and Jang Yu-bin will represent Korea in men's golf at the Asian Games, which kick off in Hangzhou, China on Saturday.

In women's golf, amateur players Kim Min-sol, Lim Ji-yoo and Yoo Hyun-jo will compete.

Korea has won the most medals in golf at the quadrennial event with 13 gold, 13 silver and nine bronze medals, but came home from the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia with no gold for the first time in 20 years.

Golfers will compete for four gold medals in the men's and women's individual and team events for four days from Sept. 28.

In the individual events, the players with the best scores win gold. In the men's team event, the three best scores from the four players on each team are counted in every round to produce a combined score, while in the women's team event, the two best scores from the three players on each team are used.

Korea is a strong contender in the men's competition. Im has won two titles and Kim four on the PGA Tour, while Cho and Jang have collected a win each at professional events.

However, men's team coach Kim Hyung-tae cautioned against complacency. "Even Tiger Woods can fail to win a gold medal. The golf tournament at the Asian Games is different from professional events. We will be careful with each shot until the end," he said.

In the women's competition, China, which is fielding all LPGA players -- Yin Ruoning, Lin Xiyu and Yu Li -- has a good chance of winning. Yin in particular is a rising star, as she won this year's Women's PGA Championship to become the second women's major championship winner from China. She currently ranks No. 1 in the women's golf rankings.

"Even though China is strong, we will do our best to win gold," Kim Min-sol said.