Rookie Profile: Il Mi Chung

Il Mi Chung has a rather different story than most of the Korean golfers who have come to play on the LPGA. Chung has been a pro now since 1995, and has played on the Korean LPGA tour basically all that time. She has become one of the top players on tour over there, frequently finishing in the top 5 on the money list, including a second place money list finish in 2002.

Perhaps her biggest win in terms of international import came in 2002, when she beat a stellar field that included Juli Inkster, Se Ri Pak and Gloria Park to win the Korean Women's Open. At the time, she said she was quite happy to continue to play in the Far East, and had no plans to try her luck on the LPGA tour. For one thing, she felt comfortable in Korea, and feared that the new culture, language and foods would not be to her liking over in America.

Il Mi in Seoul last year

Il Mi Chung with her hard earned
trophy from the Korean Women's Open

Apparently something changed Il Mi's mind, because she decided to give Q-School a shot in 2003. And it worked! She finished tied for 17th there and collected an exempt card for 2004.

So far she has not had too much success on the LPGA, missing the cut in the first two events she played. It's fairly typical for even top Korean players to take a while to get used to all the changes moving to America entails. The real test will be to see how she does in a few months, once she has had a chance to get better acclimated. Hopefully she will be playing better.

And hopefully she will get a chance to ingratiate herself to the fans over here; she is known as the Smile Queen in Korea for her easy going and winning personality. If her past record is any indication, Il Mi Chung will be a name to look for in years to come.