This article reports on the popularity of golf, which grew in Seoul after it held the 1988 Olympics, and the emergence and competitiveness of Korean golfers in which U.S. college coaches are now witnessing. According to Dr. Kyeyoung Park, an associate professor of anthropology and Asian American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, Korean attitudes grew more accepting of golf--and other sports--as a career when Seoul hosted the 1988 Olympics. Leading up to it, city leaders toiled to build new sport venues and modernize facilities to house athletes, journalists and tourists in a frenzied makeover that was like preparation for a head of state's visit. Exact numbers of Korean and Korean American players in U.S. college ranks are not known. According to the NCAA, Asian Pacific Islanders made up 2 percent of male and 5 percent of female golfers in academic year 2005, the most recent year statistics available. International students made up 6 percent of males and 8 percent of females that year. International golfers hail from countries as varied as Australia, Colombia, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea, according to U.S. teams. The University of Michigan men's golf coach Andrew Sapp has witnessed the emergence and competitiveness of Korean players from the time he was a college player himself more than 15 years ago. College golfers of Korean heritage have grown increasingly common, says Sapp, who also has coached at Purdue University and the University of North Carolina. Their accomplishments are impressive, Sapp and others say, some of them occurring before they won athletic scholarships.