Charlie Wi

Wi was born in Seoul and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 10. He was introduced to golf by his father. An expert skier, he earned spending money during college by being a ski instructor. He is a martial arts student, assisting with flexibility in golf swing. Won the 1990 California State Amateur at age 17 (second-youngest to accomplish that feat) and the 1995 Southern California Amateur. First-team All-America in 1995 at the University of California, posting the third-lowest stroke average among collegians that season behind Tiger Woods and Stewart Cink.
Wi turned professional in 1995. Early in his career, Wi played worldwide, competing on the European, Asian, and Japanese tours. He had the most success on the Asian Tour, finishing second on the money list in 2001, just behind Thongchai Jaidee, having won three times during the season.
1996 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 27; in money - 12; top -10 Finishes - 1; Scoring Average - 71.53 (Rank T65th); money $23,601 Rank (80th); best finish, T10th, Dakota Dunes Open.
They only played once in 1997, missing the cut Inland Empire Open.
1998 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 13; in money - 5; top -10 Finishes - 2; Scoring Average - 70.75 (Rank T-31st); money $26,571 Rank (77th); best finish, T4th, Wichita Open.
1999 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 10; in money - 3; top -10 Finishes - 0; Scoring Average - 72.92 (Rank N/A); money $6,556 Rank (148th); best finish, T-14th, Louisiana Open.
2000 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 25; in money - 13; top -10 Finishes - 0; Scoring Average - 72.21 (Rank 116th); money $31,451 Rank (106th); best finish, T-12th, Monterey Peninsula Classic.
They didn't play in America in 2001; he played in Asia and Europe. Did play the WGC-Bridgestone in 2002, finishing T63rd. Again no play in 2003 and 2004. Did finish T26th in Q-School, getting him his tour card for 2005.
He played in 23 PGA Tour events in 2005, making 11 cuts with one top-ten finish. He was 186th on the money list with $250,081. Their best finish was T-5th at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
2006 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 17; in money - 13; top -10 Finishes - 4; Scoring Average - 70.35 (Rank 16th); money $137,238 Rank (40th); best finish, 2nd, Rex Hospital Open. Finished T16th in Q-School, earning him PGA Tour privileges in 2007.
He played on the PGA Tour full-time between 2007 and 2014. In that span, he was runner-up five times and third once. In May 2011, Wi finished runner-up at a PGA Tour event for the fourth time in his career, losing to David Toms at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Wi was seven shots behind Toms at the halfway stage but shot a 66 during the third round to take a one-shot lead into the final round. Wi held his lead until midway through the final round when Toms holed out from the fairway for an eagle and would eventually lose by one shot. Wi finished runner-up in February 2012 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am after taking a three-shot 54-hole lead into the final round. He shot a final round 72 to finish at 15 under but lost out by two shots as Phil Mickelson came from six back to claim the title with an 8 under par round of 64. This marked the fifth time Wi had recorded a second-place finish on the PGA Tour.
Wu struggled with his game in 2014; in 25 PGA Tour starts, he made 11 cuts but only two top-25 finishes. His best was T-12th at the Fry 'sCom Open. He lost his tour card by finishing 149th in the FedExCup standings. He played part-time in 2015 in nine events he only made two cuts. After that played in just a couple of events a year, and in 31 starts between 2015 and 2022, his best finish was T-24th at the 2017 Zurich Classic of New Orleans with K.J. Choi as his partner. Between 2014 and 2021, he played in 41 Korn Ferry Tour events, and his best finish was T-7th at the 2016 Chitimacha Louisiana Open.
At the end of 2021, a month from his 50th birthday, he went to PGA Tour Champions qualifying tournament but finished T-17th.
2022 Notes: Played in 8 PGA Tour Champions events. He was able to Monday qualify for his first senior start at the ClubCorp Classic and finished T-43rd. Best finish T-12th at the Senior Open Championship, Shaw Charity Classic, and Pure Insurance Championship. Returned to PGA Tour Champions qualifying tournament and was T-29th.
2023 Notes: Was fifth alternate before finishing runner-up at the Invited Celebrity Classic. Shot 69-64-68 to finish 12-under before falling to Mark Hensby on the fourth playoff hole. It was Wi?s first top-10 finish on PGA Tour Champions in his ninth start.