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Yoon Ina promises to put Korean golfers back on top on the LPGA Tour

Published: 02 Jan. 2025, 17:22 Updated: 02 Jan. 2025, 17:31

Yoon Ina hits a shot during the Dukshin EPC-Seoul Economics Ladies Classic in Yongin, Gyeonggi on Oct. 27, 2024. [NEWS1]

KLPGA star Yoon Ina is looking to follow in footsteps of fellow LPGA golfers to bring back Korea's dominance on the U.S. Tour.

“I want to continue the LPGA Tour rookie award success started by other golfers” Yoon was quoted as saying by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, on Thursday. “I will challenge for the rookie award and world No. 1 spot.”

Yoon, 21, heads to the LPGA stage this year after earning a Tour card with the highest finish by any Korean at eighth in the LPGA Q-Series last month.

Yoon, who returned to the 2024 KLPGA season after a lengthy ban for playing the wrong ball, saw huge success domestically, winning money leader, lowest stroke and Wemade awards.

She not only won the most prize money at 1.2 billion won ($840,000), but also recorded the lowest average strokes at 70.0526 and accumulated the most Wemade points at 535. The points are awarded to golfers with top-10 finishes in KLPGA competitions.

She joins fellow LPGA Korean veterans such as 15-time LPGA champion Ko Jin-young and six-time winner Kim Hyo-joo on the U.S. Tour.

Ko Jin-young plays her shot from the third tee during the first round of the CME Group Tour Championship 2024 at Tiburon Golf Club on Nov. 21, 2024 in Naples, Florida. [AFP/YONHAP]

The 2025 season puts Yoon and the Korean veterans to the test as to whether they can bring back the glory days of the 2010s when Korean golfers dominated the Tour.

The 2024 campaign only saw Korean golfers win three titles, from Amy Yang, Ryu Hae-ran and Kim A-lim, which marked the first time with fewer than four wins for the country since 2011.

Korean dominance was clear especially in 2015, 2017 and 2018, when there were 15 titles from Koreans each season. Even in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, when there were fewer tournaments due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Korean contenders took seven titles apiece.

But the dominance started to weaken from the 2022 season, with only four titles, followed by five in 2023.

Last season, meanwhile, witnessed a stellar performance from Nelly Korda with seven wins, in addition to another notable run from Lydia Ko with three titles on the Tour and a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

Former world No. 1 Ko Jin-young, meanwhile, had a relatively quiet year but still pulled off some impressive results with seven top-10 finishes across 18 tournaments.

Yoon will introduce herself to fellow Korean LPGA golfers at the Founders Cup on Feb. 6. She is set to jet off to the United States on Jan. 19 ahead of her first tournament.

Before Yoon’s LPGA debut, some golfers will begin their 2025 season journey at the season opener Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Jan. 30 where only title winners from the the 2023 and 2024 campaign are eligible to compete.

The 2025 season includes five majors and will run through November. Korean golfers will have a chance to compete on home soil as the BMW Ladies Championship is scheduled to take place in the country again in October with the venue to be decided.

BY KO BONG-JUN [[email protected]]