Not long ago, men’s golf in Asia was often framed in terms of promise and potential rather than major achievements.

That perception changed dramatically when Y.E. Yang of South Korea and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama captured major titles, Yang at the 2009 PGA Championship and Matsuyama at the 2021 Masters, where their historic wins signaled Asian golf had finally awakened.

As a new year dawns, anticipation is high with hope it will not take another 12 years for the region to welcome a third major winner.

China’s Li Haotong showed promise with a solo third-place finish at The Open in 2017 as a fresh-faced 21-year-old and while there were subsequent wins that included a memorable head-to-head triumph over Rory McIlroy in Dubai, it was often felt he has yet to reach his fullest potential.

There were massive dips in form, encounters with swing yips and dreaded thoughts of wanting to quit the sport. Even an historic maiden appearance at the Presidents Cup in 2019 proved to be a downer as Li failed to gel with Ernie Els’ International Team, who narrowly lost to a Tiger Woods-led United States side at Royal Melbourne.

However, a resurgence in form and a fresh dose of determination last season saw Li earn a fourth DP World Tour title in Qatar and finish tied fourth at The Open, massive results which earned him an elusive card on the PGA Tour. 

“My goal is always to try and get my PGA Tour card,” said Li, now 30.

No doubt, it is a dream come true for Li, who will inherently face his career’s biggest test yet in 2026 as to whether this recent rise is another false dawn as he prepares to face the game’s best golfers at the biggest events that matter.

On the flipside, South Korea’s Tom Kim had the golfing world eating from out of his palms. By 22, he was already a three-time PGA Tour champion and earning his place in the record books alongside names like Tiger Woods with his brand of bravado golf. 

Unlike Li, Kim was a shining star in the Presidents Cup in 2022 and 2024 and emerged as an unlikely talisman for the International Team that his captain Trevor Immelman labeled the young Korean as “a tremendous gift to our sport”. He also posted a T8 and T2 at the US Open and The Open in 2023 to underline his major pedigree.

But 2025 brought Kim crashing back down to earth. His world ranking plummeted from 23^rd at the start of the year to a current 107^th following a lone top-10 all year and multiple missed cuts which hurt him. 

Being a close friend and regular playing partner with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is good, as well as it can be bad, as Kim gets to witness near perfection on a regular basis but in his pursuit to attain it, his game has worryingly gone off track. He, like many others, are hoping it is a temporary lapse. 

“It’s very humbling,” Kim told PGATour.com last year.

He is prepared to bide his time in the wilderness in hope of rediscovering his lost swing to reach golf’s promised land where lifting a major title is his ultimate goal.

“I think it's something that I needed. I think over time, being 20 years old and getting everything early, I think it's a good kick in the butt to keep your mind going,” said Kim, 23. “Hopefully, I still got a few more years ahead of me.”

Kim and Li have a mutual connection through Scheffler. Like the Korean, the Chinese ace also struck a friendship with the US superstar after they played together in the final pairing at The Open and featured in a silly-season event last month in the US.

At Royal Portrush, Li said of Scheffler: “We did joke about with each other a little bit. I asked: 'Is there any time I can practice with you when I go to the PGA Tour?' And he [Scheffler] said yes. 'But,' I said, 'when I text you, you had better reply to me'. And he goes: 'Haotong Who?' That was actually funny. He's a lovely guy to play with, and I enjoyed it.”

While Li is renowned as a jokester, he was spotted on the grounds at Wentworth Club in his bath robe and swimming goggles over his head en route to the swimming pool, the Chinese ace thrives on raw emotion and wears his heart on his sleeve.  

Kim is controlled energy and power sprinkled with a touch of exuberance, but he is anchored by discipline, structure and an almost old-soul understanding and trying to learn how to win golf tournaments again.

Together, they represent two sides of the same Asian golf coin: individuality without apology, and confidence without deference. If Li represents the fire, Kim represents the future. And both will be aiming for a strong 2026.

— The writer led communications for the PGA and Asian Tours for 25 years and now runs a sports PR consultancy.

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