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Tournament preview
Ryan Fox will make his Genesis Championship debut this week at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, as he continues his pursuit of the coveted Harry Vardon Trophy.
The New Zealander will tee it up in South Korea as Champion Golfer of the Year after he birdied the 72nd hole to win his maiden Major title in a thrilling climax to The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale in July.
The 39-year-old currently sits in sixth position on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World and is now bidding to overhaul leader Eugenio Chacarra to be crowned European Number One, with this week’s tournament and two Rolex Series events of the DP World Tour Play-Offs still to come.
Chacarra arrives in Cheonan full of confidence after reaching the top of the Rankings on Sunday. The 26-year-old recorded a two-shot victory at the DP World India Championship to secure his third title of the 2026 season and jump ahead of Patrick Reed in second and Rory McIlroy in third.
Fox will make his first appearance at Korea’s largest international golf tournament alongside his Presidents Cup teammates Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im.
World Number 14 Kim, Korea’s highest-ranked player on the Official World Golf Ranking, will tee it up for his second Genesis Championship, while two-time PGA Tour winner Im claimed victory at the 2019 edition.
Junghwan Lee, who captured his maiden DP World Tour title at last year’s tournament, will look to become the first player to successfully defend his title and win the event more than once.
This week’s Genesis Championship is the final event of the regular season with the top 100 on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World at the close of the tournament on Sunday earning a full card for the 2027 season. This week also provides players with the last chance to play their way into the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
Pablo Larrazábal, who won the Korea Championship Presented by Genesis in 2023, joins a host of players in need of a strong week to secure their place inside the top 100. The nine-time DP World Tour winner sits in 165th position on the Rankings and needs a top two finish to retain Category Ten membership for next season.
First played in 2017, the Genesis Championship will celebrate its tenth anniversary this year. It has grown into a truly global golf tournament since becoming a co-sanctioned KPGA Tour and DP World Tour event in 2024, and provides an important pathway for Korean players to step onto the global stage.
Player Quotes
Ryan Fox: I played a bunch in Korea early on in my professional career and it was always a very enjoyable place to come and play. I’m surprised I’ve taken this long to come back, but I’m looking forward to the week.
We’ve got a great golf course this week. I love the food over here as well, so it’s shaping up to be a great week. It’s always something that I wanted to be able to do. It’s hard to do, especially at my age. I’m getting older and travel’s getting a little bit harder but being able to take the Claret Jug around at the moment and show it off is pretty cool at various places around the world.
My memories from this were actually Jordan Gumberg last year. I remember watching that and seeing him hole out to keep his card which I thought was an amazing story.
I’m lucky to be one of the guys not worrying about it but obviously I want to play well this week to push my way up the Race to Dubai and see if I can contend, although Eugenio Chacarra has made that pretty tough the last few weeks. He’s playing some special golf and I’m looking forward to seeing him this week.
Eugenio Chacarra: It feels great to win four times on the DP World Tour now and three times this season. It’s something unique and it’s not easy to win in golf so I am proud and it’s nice to see my hard work paying off.
It was a fun week but it’s now time to think about this week in Korea. It’s one of my favourite courses and I couldn’t miss it.
Every time you tee off at the start of the season you want to be the best player in Europe and win the Race to Dubai. We know it’s not easy, we’ve got tremendous players now behind me in Rory (McIlroy) and Patrick (Reed). They’re the best players in the world and they’re going to come wanting it as well. Just to be in the position I’m in now was something I dreamed of when I was little so hopefully, we can have a chance on Sunday in Dubai to hold up the Race to Dubai trophy.
Pablo Larrazábal: It’s great to be back. Obviously, different place. Before we were in the Nicklaus golf course and here we are in a great golf course, you know, a tournament that I remember very well. It was win number eight for me three years ago and I have great memories, but we are in a different position now, so trying to be focused on what I have to do.
I need to win or to finish second on my own. I did it before. If not, in three weeks’ time, we’re going to have the Q school in a place that I won as well in Infinitum. So, those are my two chances.
Tournament golf is all about beating 140, 150 guys. I know the type of guys that are playing this week. I know all of them. And it’s in my hands if I play my best golf like I have done many times on the DP World Tour, I’m going to have the chance. I played 19 years and close to 500 events around the DP World Tour. If these young kids, they want to kick me out of my dream job, they’re going to have to work harder than me and beat me in the field.
I need first or second. If I finish fourth or third, I’m still losing. So I know what to do. For that, I have to play aggressive. I have to start attacking. If it doesn’t work, doesn’t work, but it’s not about positioning myself.
Si Woo Kim: I’m super excited for this week. I’ve been here last year and I really enjoyed it. Everything was great and we had great food. I’m excited to be back and I’m looking forward to this week.
Last year I thought I played ok, but it was super pressure. Also, I’ve never won in South Korea, so I want to win so bad. I had so much pressure last year. I think this year will be better, but there’s still going to be a lot of pressure.
Consistency in my game makes it better. Everything has pressure, but consistency helps me a lot. I still have a couple of tournaments left this year.
I think it’s about the grass. You have to do a lot of calculations, like flyers and sometimes not flyers. It’s going to be hard to adjust last year. It’s still going to be tough and I will try my best. The golf course is really tricky and narrow. Hopefully, I make some putts and get some good results out there.
2026 Genesis Championship
Venue: Woo Jeong Hills CC, Cheonan, South Korea
2025 Champion: Junghwan Lee (KOR)
Prize Fund: US$4,000,000
Points: 5,000
Race to Dubai: Tournament 40 of 42
Back 9: Tournament 9 of 9