Choi Na-yeon


Na Yeon Choi is a South Korean female professional golfer playing on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. In July 2012, she won the U.S. Women's Open for her first major championship.

Amateur career

At age 17 in 2004, Choi won the ADT CAPS Invitational on the LPGA of Korea Tour, beating future Hall-of-Famer Se Ri Pak 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 in the fall of 2007, but finished two shots shy of earning a fully exempt Tour card for the 2008 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.
In 2009, Choi won twice on the LPGA Tour. In October she won the 20-player Samsung World Championship. 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 at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic 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.

Professional wins (15)

LPGA Tour wins (9)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-upEarnings
120 Sep 2009Samsung World Championship71-67-63-71=272−161 stroke Ai Miyazato250,000
21 Nov 2009Hana Bank-KOLON Championship68-71-67=206−101 stroke Maria Hjorth
Yani Tseng		255,000
34 Jul 2010Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic64-67-68-71=270−14Playoff Christina Kim
In-Kyung Kim
Song-Hee Kim		150,000
431 Oct 2010LPGA Hana Bank Championship69-68-69=206−102 strokes Vicky Hurst270,000
516 Oct 2011Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia66-68-67-68=269−151 stroke Yani Tseng285,000
68 Jul 2012U.S. Women's Open71-72-65-73=281−74 strokes Amy Yang585,000
718 Nov 2012CME Group Titleholders67-68-69-70=274−142 strokes So Yeon Ryu500,000
831 Jan 2015Coates Golf Championship68-70-66-68=272−161 stroke Jang Ha-na
Lydia Ko
Jessica Korda		225,000
928 Jun 2015Walmart NW Arkansas Championship66-63-69=198−152 strokes Mika Miyazato300,000

LPGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12008Evian Masters Helen Alfredsson
Angela Park		Alfredsson won with birdie on third extra hole
Park eliminated with birdie on first hole
22010Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Christina Kim
In-Kyung Kim
Song-Hee Kim		Won with birdie on second extra hole
32011Safeway Classic Suzann PettersenLost to par on first extra hole
42012HSBC Women's Champions Shanshan Feng
Jenny Shin
Angela Stanford		Stanford won with par on third extra hole
Choi eliminated with par on second hole
Feng eliminated with par on first hole

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

T = tied

Summary

Professional