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In the summer, she came over to the States
and had more success. She finished tied for 39th at the US
Women's Open, which tied her with Jennie Lee for low amateur.
A little later she played the US Women's Amateur, and once
again did great, advancing all the way to the quarterfinals
before losing to her good friend Kimberly Kim in 21 holes.
In the Fall, Song was invited to play at the
KLPGA's KB Star Tour #5 event, and made the most of it. She
captured the first round lead, was third after two rounds,
then moved up to second after three rounds, albeit six shots
out of the lead held by Young Ran Jo. Unfortunately, she stumbled
on the final day, shooting a 77 to fall to 11th. But it was
still a great week in a pro event against a tough field.
Jennifer joined the USC golf team in the fall
of 2008. 2009 proved to be an amazing and historic year for
her. She just barely lost the NCAA championship, making costly
mistakes on the last few holes to lose the lead. But she made
up for that by winning the US Women's Amateur Pub Links a
little later. Then, she finished low amateur, tied for 13th,
at the US Women's Open. She followed that up by winning the
US Women's Amateur, becoming only the second woman in history
(after Pearl Sinn) to win both the WAPL and Amateur in the
same year. Song was not even alive when Sinn did this in 1988.
Song continued her great achievements right
into 2010. At that year's Kraft Nabisco Championship, she
was in contention for several rounds, and was again low amateur,
ending up tied for 21st. She finally turned pro in the middle
of 2010, right after the Curtis Cup. She joined the Futures
Tour, and in her very first professional tournament, the Tate
& Lyle's Player's Championship, she cruised to a six shot
victory after shooting rounds of 68-67-65 and a blistering,
record tying 61. Her total score was also a four round Futures
Tour record.
She continued to be brilliant the rest of
the Futures Tour season. Though she started her year several
months after the rest of the tour, she relentlessly worked
her way up the money list. In her final four events, she finished
4th, 2nd, 1st and 2nd, losing the last event in a playoff
to the top player on tour, Cindy LaCrosse. Meanwhile, Song
managed to climb all the way to second on tour, which earned
her full membership on the LPGA in 2011 (in her final event
she moved from 4th to 2nd, showing she was improving week
to week right to the end!).
Song had a surprisingly lackluster rookie
season on the LPGA tour. She barely secured full status for
2012, finishing 79th on the money list. She had no top tens
during the year, her best finish a tie for 16th at the Avnet
Classic. She made the cut in one of the three Majors she played,
and was not a factor in the Rookie of the Year race.
Song improved slightly in 2012. She scored
her first top ten finish at the RR Donnelley in March, finishing
tied for 6th. She also shot her career best round, a 66, at
Kingsmill. She wound up making over $128,000 and finishing
71st on the money list, thus maintaining her full tour card.
2013 was a far weaker season for Jennifer.
She only made about $36,000 and finished just 108th on the
money list. She tried to improve her status at Q-School that
Fall, but finished too far back. So her status was reduced
to category 16 for 2014.
Song had a pretty good season in 2014, allowing
her to climb back to full status (category 11) for 2015. She
didn't have any top tens, but still made ~$124,000 during
the year, which placed her 83rd on the money list. She should
get into a whole lot more events in 2015!
The 2015 season was one of the best of Jennifer's
career to date. She made more money, over $260,000, than any
other year, and had her best money list finish, 67th. She
had no top tens, but just missed one with a tie for 11th at
the CME Group Tour Championship. She had five other top twenties
as well.
Jennifer had an even better season in 2016.
She set new marks for most money earned ($390,501), money
list position (46th) and scoring average (71.56). By far her
best result of the year came at the CME Tour Championship,
where she shot three rounds in the 60s to finish solo third,
her first career top five. She also managed ties for 17th
at two of the year's Majors.
In many ways, 2017 was Jennifer's best season
yet. She made the most money in a season to date, around $423,000,
good for 48th on the money list. She also had her best ever
performance at a Major when she scored her first career Major
top ten at the Evian, a solo 8th. She followed that two weeks
later with a 4th at the McKayson New Zealand Women's Open.
Her scoring average (71.40) was also her career best.
Jennifer had an even better season in 2018.
She set career bests for money earned ($626,000) and money
list position (33rd). She had three top tens, including a
3rd at the Canadian Women's Open. But her best result came
at the ANA Inspiration. She shot four rounds in the 60s and
ended up in a playoff with Inbee Park and Pernilla Lindberg.
She was eliminated after three holes, and Lindberg went on
to beat Park in eight playoff holes. But Song's tie for 2nd
was her best ever LPGA result.
Jennifer represented the LPGA at the OrangeLife
Champions Trophy. She teamed with Chella Choi in a loss, and
with Lydia Ko in a win. She lost her singles match to Ji Hyun
Kim. The LPGA won the event 13-11.
2019 was a less successful year for Jennifer.
She only had one top ten, an 8th, all season, and made just
$160,000 all year. That was 85th on the money list, which
dropped her tour status to category 11 for 2020.
In 2020, the whole world was rocked by the
Covid-19 pandemic. The LPGA and KLPGA tours canceled and postponed
many tournaments. Despite the disease, in many ways Jennifer
had one of her best LPGA seasons. In her very first event
of the year, she shot a 64, her all-time best score on tour,
and finished tied for 11th. She managed back-to-back 7th place
finishes at the Scottish and British Opens, and had a solo
third at the ShopRite. In all she had 4 top tens and finished
a career-best 27th on the LPGA money list.
Jennifer's 2021 season was not quite as good,
but she still maintained her top status for 2022. She made
a little over $208,000, finishing 82nd on the money list.
She had just a single top ten, a tie for 8th at the Cambia
Portland Classic.
Jennifer struggled even more in 2022. She
only made $122,000 all year and fell to category 14 for 2022.
Her best finish was a tie for 12th at the ShopRite Classic.
She declined yet again in 2023. She missed eleven cuts, with
her best finish a tie for 27th. She earned $54,000 all season.
She ended up back at Q Series in the Fall,
but she had a secret weapon: her caddie was her good friend
Amy Yang, who was coming off her huge win at the CME Group
Tour Championship. With Amy's help, Jennifer finished tied
for 17th, earning one of the last full cards for 2024.
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