SOO JIN YANG

The Facts

Capsule Bio

Soo Jin Yang turned pro in late 2008 and joined the KLPGA as a rookie in 2009. With her looks and great length off the tee, she quickly grabbed sponsorship deals. She also had a solid year on the course. She finished 16th on the money list, the runner up (to Shin Ae Ahn) in the Rookie of the Year standings. She had 4 top tens during the season. Her best finish was a second place behind So Yeon Ryu at the Woori Bank Championship.

Yang had a breakthrough season on the KLPGA in 2010. Her first great moment came at the year's first Major, the Korean Women's Open. Yang found herself in a pitched battle for the title with several amateur stars. She had a chance to win the event with a par on the final hole, but made bogey. Fortunately, she triumphed over one of the amateurs in the playoff, and thus collected not only her first KLPGA win, but her first Major.

Galleries

She played brilliantly the rest of the season. Yang grabbed a second win later in the year, as well as three other seconds, three more thirds, and 13 total top tens. She managed to finish second on the money list behind only superstar Bo Mee Lee. She was also third in the league in scoring with a 71.07 average. Without question, the promising teen had become a genuine star.

Soo Jin had another great year in 2011. On the KLPGA tour, she made over 300 million won and finished 4th on the money list. The biggest highlight of her Korean season came at the Doosan Match Play, which Yang won in relentless style, beating former champ Bo Kyung Kim, former LPGA player HJ Choi, and KLPGA winner Ji Na Lim en route to the finals, where she triumphed over fellow KLPGA star Hyun Hwa Shim 4 & 3. Other highlights among her five top tens include a 2nd place at the year's second Major, the KLPGA Championship, and two third places.

Yang also played an LPGA Major for the first time in 2011, finishing tied for 49th at the US Women's Open. But her biggest LPGA highlight came at the Hana Bank Championship. She actually had the lead after round 2, and played in the final group on Sunday. She wound up tied for 3rd with Jimin Kang and Brittany Lincicome, three shots behind winner Ya Ni Tseng.

2012 was another strong year for Yang on the KLPGA tour. She had one win, at the S-OIL Champions Invitational in June. She had 8 other top tens, including a 2nd and a 3rd, and finished 5th on the tour money list with over 344 million won earned.

She ended the year at the Swinging Skirts in Taiwan. Playing in a field with most of the top women golfers in the world, she finished tied for third, one of her best international finishes to date. She also played in the Korea-Japan Team Competition, where she lost to Maiko Wakabayashi in the team competition and tied her in singles.

Yang's 2013 was not quite as strong as her 2012, but she still had several highlights. She had one win on the KLPGA tour at the Nexen-Saint Nine Masters in April. She had 6 top tens on the year, four of which were third place fnishes. She made nearly 330 million won in 2013 and finished 8th on the money list, her first time out of the top five in several years. She also got a chance to play the US Women's Open, where she finished tied for 36th, her best ever Major result.

Soo Jin added one more accolade in 2013: she was named the Best Dressed player on tour by the fans at the year ending KLPGA Awards Show!

Soo Jin had an unusually weak 2014 season. A mainstay of the top ten, she only finished 26th on the money list. She had no wins and just three top tens (her best finish was a second). She made about 158 million won. It's possible that Yang was a bit distracted from golf, however. She was given the opportunity by her clothing sponsor, Pearly Gates, to design a line of golf clothing for them. The outfits proved fairly successful. In addition, she began dating the top player on the KPGA tour, Sung Hyuk Kim; the power couple became a target of the paparazzi in 2014, especially as the two showed up to gather awards for his great play that season.

Soo Jin had an even worse 2015 than her 2014, but considering all her off course distractions, that might not be so surprising. She finished only 38th on the money list, with her best finish a third place at the Korean Women's Open. She also sent the paparazzi into action when she broke up with Sung Hyuk Kim and started seeing a popular pitcher in the Korean Major Leagues.

2016 started promisingly for Soo Jin: she finished second at the LotteMart Open, losing to Su Yeon Jang when Jang chipped in for eagle on the final hole. Alas, that was the highlight of her season. The rest of the year, her best finish was a pair of 11th place finishes. She wound up 49th on the money list, with 138 million won earned.

In 2017, Soo Jin continued to struggle with her game early. But she has been a little distracted: she got married in March to Yoon Eui Lee, a professional soccer player. By May, it was announced she was pregnant, and she played her final event of the season in June, after which she took the rest of the year off to have her child. Because of her lengthy maternity leave, her money was not counted in the final year-ending money list.

Soo Jin returned to action in early 2018 after the birth of her daughter. She didn't have much success, missing the cut most of the time and finishing poorly otherwise. She wound up 94th on the tour money list with under 34 million won earned. But she still is getting used to being a mom on tour, and has also changed main sponsor to Mediheal and fashion sponsor to LPGA golfwear. The days of her wild golf fashion might be over, but the new married mom era has just begun!

Soo Jin played on the Dream Tour in 2019. She did manage three starts on the KLPGA, but her best finish was only a 29th. She started once during 2020, playing the Korea Women's Open, but missed the cut. She has not played since and retired.

Soo Jin is still on Instagram, and recently appeared in a golf TV program with her old friend Ha Neul Kim, who has now also retired.