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PGA Tour: CJ Cup top five sleeper picks

By Mike Randleman

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - OCTOBER 15: Sung Kang of South Korea in action during the final round of the 2017 CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur on October 15, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Stanley Chou/Getty Images)
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - OCTOBER 15: Sung Kang of South Korea in action during the final round of the 2017 CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur on October 15, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Stanley Chou/Getty Images) /
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CJ Cup
CHARLOTTE, NC – AUGUST 08: Jeunghun Wang of South Korea prepares to play his shot during a practice round prior to the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on August 8, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images) /

How cool would it be to see a South Korean player win this week? The PGA Tour is constantly pushing its borders outward; a strong performance or two this week from a hometown golfer could help a nation with a rich history in women’s golf but not so much on the men’s side.

Wang, 22, is a young European Tour player getting a crack at the PGA Tour this week. While folks in North America might be unaccustomed to Jeunghun Wang, he’s showed a lot of promise with two wins on the European Tour before most American players would graduate from college. His win at the 2016 Trophee Hassan II helped him to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award on the European Tour.

It’s been a while since Wang posted a top-10 finish (T8 at the Nordea Masters in June), but he’s not far off from putting it all together for a great week. He enters making five top-50s in a row including a T21 in a Rolex Series event, the Italian Open, last week. He made just six bogeys total in Italy and was in the 60s each round.

Wang doesn’t appear to have any eye-catching statistical strengths, but he’s an efficient player. He’s on a 13-round streak of shooting par or better.

Though this is a rare PGA Tour start for the young South Korean, he played in all four majors last year and a few World Golf Championships.

This week will be the third time this year Wang will play for the third week in a row. The past two times on the third start, Wang posted two missed cuts and a T24.

He is the fourth-highest ranked Korean in the world and is the highest of his countrymen at No. 40 in the Race to Dubai.

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