Na Yeon Choi ( ko, 최나연 ; born 28 October 1987) is a South Korean

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

playing on the U.S.-based

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

. In July 2012, she won the

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...

for her first major championship.

Amateur career

At age 17 in 2004, Choi won the

ADT CAPS Invitational ADT or Adt may refer to: People * Ana de Teresa (born 2001), Spanish footballer known as ADT * Harro Adt (born 1942), German diplomat * Katrin Adt (born 1972), German business executive Places * Ada Municipal Airport, airport in Oklahoma (IA ...

on the

LPGA of Korea Tour The LPGA of Korea Tour is a South Korean professional golf tour for women. LPGA stands for Ladies Professional Golf Association. LPGA of Korea runs this tour, not the American LPGA. It is one of the world's five leading women's golf tours. Based o ...

(KLPGA), beating future Hall-of-Famer

Se Ri Pak Pak Se-ri or Se-ri Pak ( ko, 박세리, ; born 28 September 1977) is a South Korean former professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour from 1998 to 2016. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007. Career overview Born in D ...

by four strokes. Choi turned professional shortly thereafter, in November 2004. She won once each year on the KLPGA Tour in 2004 through 2007.

Professional career

In 2007, Choi played in the Hana Bank-KOLON Championship, an event co-sponsored by the LPGA and KLPGA Tours, and finished eighth. She attended LPGA

Qualifying Tournament Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

in the fall of 2007, but finished two shots shy of earning a fully exempt Tour card for the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

season. Her non-exempt card meant she was not automatically eligible for every event, yet her high conditional status and consistent good play put her in nearly every tournament. She won over $1 million and finished 11th on the 2008 money list with nine top-10 finishes in 27 events played. She finished second in the LPGA Rookie of the Year race, just behind winner

Yani Tseng Yani Tseng (; born 23 January 1989) is a Taiwanese professional golfer playing on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She is the youngest player ever, male or female, to win five major championships and was ranked number 1 in the Women's World Golf Ranki ...

. In

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, Choi won twice on the LPGA Tour. In October she won the 20-player

Samsung World Championship The Samsung World Championship was an annual golf tournament played between 1980 and 2009, for professional female golfers on the LPGA Tour. It was a limited field event, open by invitation only. The tournament was founded in 1980 by Mark McCorm ...

. Two weeks later she won the Hana Bank-KOLON Championship, an event co-sanctioned with the KLPGA. Her third LPGA Tour win came in July

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

at the

Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic The Dana Open Presented By Marathon, is a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. It was founded in 1984 and has been played yearly, except in 1986 and 2011, in Sylvania, Ohio, a suburb northwest of Toledo. The tournament is tele ...

at which she beat three other players on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. In 2010, Choi was both the LPGA Tour money leader and the leading scorer (Vare Trophy).

Professional wins (15)

LPGA Tour wins (9)

LPGA Tour playoff record (1–3)

LPGA of Korea Tour wins (8)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order before 2019.'' ^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013 CUT = missed the half-way cut
DQ = disqualified
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

* Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (twice) * Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (2009 LPGA – 2009 British Open)

LPGA Tour career summary

* official through 2022 season

Team appearances

Professional *

Lexus Cup The Lexus Cup was an annual golf tournament played between 2005 and 2008 for professional women golfers contested by a team representing Asia and an international team representing the rest of the world. It was sanctioned by the LPGA Tour,

(representing Asia team):

International Crown The Hanwha LifePlus International Crown is a :wikt:biennial, biennial women's professional team golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. Eight national teams of four players each (32 players in total) participate in the match play event. History It deb ...

(representing South Korea):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

External links

* *
Profile on Seoul Sisters site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Na Yeon South Korean female golfers LPGA Tour golfers LPGA of Korea Tour golfers Winners of LPGA major golf championships Konkuk University alumni Golfers from Seoul Golfers from Orlando, Florida 1987 births Living people