CJ Logistics

A record four Korean players from CJ Logistics named to International Team pitted against a team from the US

Sung-jae Im, Joo-hyung Kim, Kyoung-hoon Lee, and Si-woo Kim, better known as CJ Brothers, playing in the PGA Tour, put on a phenomenal performance in the 2022 Presidents Cup. The success is proof that CJ Group’s sponsorship of athletes grounded in its management philosophy of ONLYONE is now bearing fruit.

CJ Logistics today announced that Sung-jae Im, Joo-hyung Kim, Kyoung-hoon Lee, and Si-woo Kim have together landed a total of nine wins at the 2022 Presidents Cup held in Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina from September 20 to 25, 2022 (local time). Their sensational victory has reportedly left an overwhelming impression on golf fans worldwide.

Mind-blowing shots led to nine wins against the US team despite the team’s loss, empowered by some steadfast support on their journey to become the world’s best players

In the match, the International Team earned 12.5 points after recording 11 wins, three ties, and 15 loses, but lost against the US Team, which had gained 17.5 points. However, the Korean players competed very well, even creating a positive team atmosphere at some points during the game. The four CJ Brothers showed their skills and scored a total of nine victories together during the four days, earning 7.5 points out of 12.5 points the team gained.

Si-woo Kim teamed with Cameron Davis in a foursome on the first day and together, they became the only team to win the match in the International Team. Until the very last day, Kim competed in four matches and recorded three wins and one loss. He also posted the highest number of wins among the International Team, raising expectations for the upcoming season. The other players also gave some incredible performances, with Sung-jae Im recording two wins, one tie, and two loses; Kyoung-hoon Lee two wins and one loss; and Joo-hyung Kim two wins and three loses. Joo-hyung Kim, in particular, recorded two consecutive wins on the third day putting the brakes on the US Team’s lead, invigorating the International Team for the potential victory. The “3m birdie putt of victory” from Joo-hyung Kim in the Four-Ball match play, was the moment when spectators witnessed the 20-year-old player’s star quality.

The Presidents Cup is a match play event where an International Team excluding Europe, compete against the US Team, the number one golf nation. This year, a record number of Koreans joined the competition since its founding in 1994 and drew the attention of golf lovers all around the world. What’s more, the fact that 1/3 of the 12-member International Team was Korean and that they all belong to CJ Logistics attracted much attention. This was a remarkable feat for the CJ Group as it has sponsored the male athletes as they push their limits to become the world’s best players in a country that has long been close to a wasteland when it comes to men’s golf. For 2019 Presidents Cup, Byeong-hun An and Sung-jae Im from CJ Logistics competed in the competition. This was when CJ Logistics began making a name for itself in the international golf world.

Market insiders view the success of CJ Logistics golfers as being attributable mainly to CJ’s unique sports marketing campaign based on the group’s ONLYONE management philosophy. Major conglomerates in Korea have focused on investing in popular sports, such as baseball and basketball. On the contrary, CJ took a differentiated approach with which it has driven the growth of golf and golf players. These efforts have clearly paid off, resulting in the first and the best records, which have never been accomplished by other groups.

Since the 2000s, CJ has been sponsoring young aspiring athletes as they vie for victory on the global stage in the game of golf, and gave them the opportunity to compete in international competitions. CJ began sponsoring top women golfers, such as Sun-hwa Lee and Kyung-eun Bae starting in 2001. From 2002, CJ has held the CJ Nine Bridges Classic, the first official US LPGA tournament that was held in Korea for four years, and which also served as a stepping stone for female golfers to play in the LPGA. Se-ri Park, sponsored by CJ since 2003, became the youngest member of the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2007 as the first Korean and the first Asian, raising the status of Korean female golfers.

After the 2010s when a Korean player topped the LPGA rankings, CJ shifted the focus to men’s golf, a wasteland in comparison to women’s golf. Hence, CJ opened up opportunities for Korean golfers to compete with top-ranking players in the world by holding The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, an official PGA Tour tournament annually, starting in 2017. Through the tournament, CJ has discovered and been able to foster many promising young players.

In fact, Korean players who have taken the prize in PGA Tours since 2016 are Sung-jae Im, Si-woo Kim, Sung-hoon Kang, Kyoung-hoon Lee, and Joo-hyung Kim, who are all members of CJ Logistics and have won a total of nine victories altogether. Korean players included in the top 100 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) are Sung-jae Im (ranked 19th), Joo-hyung Kim (22nd), Kyoung-hoon Lee (43rd), and Si-woo Kim (76th), again, all CJ Logistics golfers.

CJ Logistics anticipates that this tournament and the impressive performance of their golfers in the matches will be a chance to promote its brand as an international company operating in 249 locations in 36 countries worldwide and to raise the company's status on the international arena. Today, CJ Logistics continues with its efforts to enter the global market going beyond being a leading comprehensive logistics company in Korea. CJ Logistics is aggressively expanding business not only in emerging countries like Vietnam and India, but also in the US, the mainstream logistics market, through CJ Logistics America.

A CJ Logistics officer said, “The business philosophy of CJ Group Chairman Jay-hyun Lee that ‘companies must be partners for young people in their pursuit for their dreams’ has come to life through sports sponsorship. We will continue to not only discover promising players and help them succeed on the global stage, but to also facilitate advancement of the sports itself and pertinent industries.”