Access Spanning the Globe

To compete in the inaugural Bridges Cup, top U.S. and international amateur golfers journeyed to the Far East in friendship and in a fashion suited to the pros

- Jessica Marksbury

Team U.S.A. and Team International gather around the trophy on the 18th green at Nine Bridges to kick off the tournament.

THIRTY ELITE AMATEUR GOLFERS walked through South Korea's Gimpo airport in late October pulling Bridges Cup-branded travel bags. They were also wearing matching branded hoodies and carrying identical backpacks. Together, they boarded the Bridges Cup exclusive Boeing 737 that would fly them to Jeju Island, a place often referred to as the "Hawaii of South Korea" and home to Nine Bridges, a World Top 100 Golf Course that meanders around the island's mountains.

The unison of movement through the airport was impressive. These golfers, who'd traveled from seven countries, were sporting the gear they'd received for an event they'd never heard of just six months prior. In a grand yet effortless fashion, this congregation at Gimpo initiated the inaugural Bridges Cup, a golf tournament that is positioned to become a mainstay within the amateur circuit.

The entire event was branded with the Bridges Cup logo, making it fee elite and unique.

The Bridges Cup is the brainchild of CJ Corp, one of South Korea's leading holding companies that oversee a variety of businesses from food service and pharmaceutics to biotechnology and media. CJ Corp's investment in the professional game over the last decade has been profound. CJ Logistics, a branch of CJ Corp, currently sponsors nine professional golfers who compete on seven tours. And the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges is the PGA Tour's first-ever event in South Korea. Winners since the inaugural event in 2017 include Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy, and it has guaranteed to offer a purse that exceeds $9 million each year through 2026.