Danny Lee ranked seventh on the PGA TOUR in sand-save percentage this season. His proficiency from bunkers is the result of his relationship with K.J. Choi, the Vice Captain of this year's International Presidents Cup Team.

Choi, 45, is the patriarch of the PGA TOUR’s growing contingent of Korean-born players. The short game is just one area where Choi offers advice to his countrymen.

“(KJ) always looks after the younger players,” said Lee, who is making his Presidents Cup debut after finishing ninth in the FedExCup. “He told me that on the PGA TOUR, they always put the flag behind bunkers. As a professional golfer, you shouldn’t be afraid to hit it in the bunker.

“He makes us practice bunker shots for hours, even when I want to go hit balls on the driving range.”

Lee moved to New Zealand when he was 10 years old and is a resident of that country, but he's also one of two Korean-born players who will compete for the International Team in South Korea. Sangmoon Bae, a two-time PGA TOUR winner, made the team as one of Captain Nick Price's two captain's selections. Choi is Price's Vice Captain, a post that pays homage to Choi's place in South Korea’s golf history and reputation as a strong leader.

He was steeled by a trying transition to the PGA TOUR. Choi was 29 years old when, at the 1999 Q-School, he became the first player from Korea to earn PGA TOUR membership. He’d played just one PGA TOUR event in the United States before becoming a rookie. He embarked on the 2000 season with his wife Hyunjung Kim and oldest son David. He was alone at the course, though.

“Looking back, if I’d had a mentor during my first few years on TOUR, I think I would have acted more confident,” Choi said. “I think I was very dispirited when practicing or playing because I didn’t have anyone to lean on.”

The language barrier made it difficult to communicate with his PGA TOUR peers. He knew that some didn’t think he would last long on TOUR, but he was proactive about meeting his fellow players. Choi said he spent two years introducing himself to every player who passed by. “My name is K.J. Choi and I am from South Korea,” he would say.

He also relied on his faith to get through his early years in the States. “It was God who helped me become who I am by pushing me to practice and work hard.

“When I first arrived in the U.S., many fans back home had doubts that I would even survive a year on the PGA TOUR because no one else before me had ever reached this stage. But I look back now, and it has already been 16 years. I truly believe this is all God’s grace.”

Choi won his first two TOUR titles in his third season. He finished in the top 30 on the money list in six of the next seven seasons. His eight PGA TOUR victories include the 2011 PLAYERS Championship.

Like many Korean-born players, Lee followed Choi to the Dallas area when he became a PGA TOUR player. Travel is convenient out of Dallas, but Choi is a big draw, as well. He plays and practices with his countrymen both at tournaments and at home.

“It really feels great to see them improve and go out and play well,” he said.

Three of the top seven players in sand-save percentage this season were born in Korea. Kevin Na led the TOUR in that stat (63.2 percent), while S.J. Park was second (63.1). Lee got up-and-down from bunkers 61.5 percent of the time.

Bae also receives tips from Choi. “He’s a really good friend,” Bae said. “I respect him.”

The contingent of Korean-born players on the PGA TOUR continues to grow. Four finished in the top 125 of this season’s FedExCup (Lee, Bae, Kevin Na and James Hahn). Another four – D.H. Lee, Si Woo Kim, Michael Kim and Sung Kang – finished in the top 25 of the Web.com Tour money list to earn membership for the 2015-16 season.

The transition to the United States is easier than when Choi first made the journey across the Pacific. Some players move to the States as children. Because of globalization, players who don’t come to the U.S. until becoming TOUR members have already been exposed to Western culture. Many speak English and are accustomed to Western food. They’ve watched the PGA TOUR on TV, learning its courses and players, thanks to increased coverage in the wake of Tiger Woods’ global popularity.

Today’s Korean players also arrive in America with increased confidence after seeing the success of predecessors like Y.E. Yang, the 2009 PGA Championship winner, and Choi. The younger players have another advantage that Choi didn’t possess when he started playing on the PGA TOUR: someone to turn to for advice.

“I look at young Korean players these days … and they are all confident in how they act, speak fluent English and play very well on the big stage,” Choi said.

They can thank Choi for paving their path.