Looking Back: CJ Cup on PGA Tour

The CJ Cup was a pro golf tournament on the PGA Tour from the mid-2010s into the early 2020s. It was played during the fall portion of the schedule, typically in October. The tournament took place in South Korea the first half of its run, and in the United States as it wound down.

First played: 2017

Last played: 2022

When the CJ Cup debuted in 2017, it became the first official PGA Tour tournament played in South Korea.

The CJ Cup was played six times but had only four champions. That's because two of them won it twice: Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy.

The tournament's 72-hole scoring record of 263 was set by McIlroy in 2021. The 18-hole tournament record was 61, set by Emiliano Grillo and Robert Streb, also in 2021. Brooks Koepka's four-stroke win in 2018 was the largest margin of victory.

The tournament ended following the 2022-23 PGA Tour season when CJ Group, a Korean conglomerate, took over as title sponsor of a different tour event, the Byron Nelson Championship.

Winners of the CJ Cup

2017 — Justin Thomas, 279 (def. Marc Leishman in playoff)
2018 — Brooks Koepka, 267
2019 — Justin Thomas, 268
2020 — Jason Kokrak, 268
2021 — Rory McIlroy, 263
2022 — Rory McIlroy, 267

Golf courses: The tournament was originally played in South Korea at Nine Bridges Golf Club on Jeju Island. In 2020, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, it was moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, originally with plans to return to South Korea. But that return to Korea never happened. The CJ Cup took place at Shadow Creek and The Summit Club in Las Vegas in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and ended at Congaree Golf Club in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Also known as: The tournament's location was in the full event name several times. It was "The CJ Cup at Nine Bridges" in the three years it was played in Korea, then "the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek."