Charlie Wi

Wi was born in Seoul and moved to Los Angeles when he was 10 years old. He was introduced to golf by his father. An expert skier, he earned spending money during college as a ski instructor. He is a student of martial arts, which helps with flexibility in the golf swing. Won the 1990 California State Amateur at age 17 (second youngest to accomplish the feat) and the 1995 Southern California Amateur. Earned first-team All-America honors at the University of California in 1995, posting the third-lowest collegiate stroke average that season behind Tiger Woods and Stewart Cink.
Wi turned pro in 1995. Early in his career, Wi played around the world, 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, and winning three times during the season.
1996 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 27; in money - 12; top-10 finishes - 1; scoring average - 71.53 (T65th); money - $23,601 (80th); best finish, T10th, Dakota Dunes Open.
Played just once in 1997, missing the cut at the Inland Empire Open.
1998 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments started - 13; money finishes - 5; top-10 finishes - 2; average score - 70.75 (T-31st); money finish $26,571 (77th); best finish, T4th, Wichita Open.
1999 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments started - 10; money finishes - 3; top-10 finishes - 0; scoring average - 72.92 (N/A); money finish $6,556 (148th); best finish, T-14th, Louisiana Open.
2000 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments started - 25; money finishes - 13; top-10 finishes - 0; scoring average - 72.21 (116th); money $31,451 (106th); best finish, T-12th, Monterey Peninsula Classic.
Did not play in America in 2001; played in Asia and Europe. Played the WGC-Bridgestone in 2002, finished T63rd. Did not play again in 2003 and 2004. Finished T26th in Q-School, which earned him his Tour card for 2005.
He played in 23 PGA Tour events in 2005, making 11 cuts with one top-10 finish. He finished 186th on the money list with $250,081. His best finish was T-5th at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
2006 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments started - 17; in money - 13; top-10 finishes - 4; average score - 70.35 (16th); money $137,238 (40th); best finish, 2nd, Rex Hospital Open. Finished T16th in Q-School, which earned him PGA Tour privileges in 2007.
Played full-time on the PGA Tour from 2007 to 2014. During that span, he tied for second five times and tied for third once. In May 2011, Wi finished runner-up in 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 point, but shot a 66 in the third round to take a one-shot lead into the final round. Wi held the lead until midway through the final round, when Toms holed out of the fairway for eagle and eventually lost by one stroke. In February 2012, Wi finished runner-up at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am after taking a three-stroke 54-hole lead into the final round. He shot a final-round 72 to finish at 15-under, but lost by two shots as Phil Mickelson came from six behind to win with an 8-under-par 64. It was the fifth time Wu had finished second on the PGA Tour.
Wu struggled with his game in 2014, making 11 cuts in 25 PGA Tour starts but only two top-25 finishes. His best finish was T-12th at the Fry'sCom Open. He lost his tour card after finishing 149th in the FedExCup standings. He played part-time in 2015, playing in nine events and making only two cuts. After that, he played only 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 events on the Korn Ferry Tour and his best finish was T-7th at the 2016 Chitimacha Louisiana Open.
In late 2021, a month before his 50th birthday, he played in the PGA Tour Champions qualifying tournament but finished T-17th.
2022 Notes: He played in 8 PGA Tour Champions events. On Monday, he qualified for his first senior start at the ClubCorp Classic and finished T-43rd. His best finishes were T-12th at the Senior Open Championship, Shaw Charity Classic, and Pure Insurance Championship. He returned to the PGA Tour Champions qualifying event and finished T-29th.
2023 Notes: Played in 17 PGA Tour Champions events with two top-10 finishes. Ranked 35th in the Schwab rankings and 41st on the money list with $553,890 in earnings. Tied for fifth on the leaderboard before tying for second at the Invited Celebrity Classic. Shot 69-64-68 to finish at 12-under before losing to Mark Hensby on the fourth playoff hole. It was his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour Champions in his ninth start. He also tied for second at the TimberTech Championship, which qualified him for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, where he finished 26th.
2024 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with five top-ten finishes. Was 39th on the Schwab money list with earnings of $634,632. Best finish T-5th at the rain-shortened Boeing Classic. Was T-26th in his last start at the Simmond Bank Championship.
2025 Notes: Best finish T-5th at the Regions Tradition, five shots back of the winner Angel Cabrera.