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Esther Choe was a figure skater when she was
young, but after going with her dad and older brother to the
golf course a few times as a youngster, she decided to switch
to golf. By the time she was 10, she had broken 80 for the
first time, and not long after that, she became one of the
top junior golfers in the country.
Among her major victories have been the Junior
Orange Bowl, where she beat Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer,
and the British Junior Open in Scotland. When she was in her
mid-teens, her family relocated to Scottsdale so she could
live near to Jim Flick, her swing guru.
In 2006, Esther rose to the very top of the
junior ranks. She was named the AJGA Girl's Player of the
Year. She won three events that year, including the Rolex
Junior Girls Championship and the Ping Invitational, where
she set a course record in the opening round. In all, Esther
accumulated six AJGA wins in her junior career and was a four
time Canon All American.
In late 2006, she signed a letter of intent
to play for the University of Arizona in the 2007-2008 season.
But she surprised everyone by turning pro right after the
2007 Nabisco in April. She played a few Futures Tour events
and did pretty well, notching several top tens including a
tie for second. But in the Fall, she failed to get through
either LPGA Q-School sectional into the finals. Thus, she
played the Futures Tour in 2008.
Amazingly, Esther continued to struggle with
her game in 2008. She played only five events on the Futures
Tour, finishing no better than 42nd. She returned to LPGA
Q School in the Fall, but was not able to advance out of either
sectional for the second year in a row. In interviews, she
has confessed that she has no injuries; she has simply lost
confidence in her game.
Esther played on the Futures Tour again in
2009, and finished only 120th on their money list, earning
less than 4 thousand dollars. She had more success playing
minor league tours such as the Cactus League.
In 2010, Esther finally had a good season
on the Futures Tour. Although she didn't quite play well enough
to earn an LPGA tour card, she came close. Esther competed
in 16 events, with a top finish of tied for 2nd and 5 total
top tens. This enabled her to finish 12th on the money list,
just two spots shy of earning a card. Hopefully the confidence
she gained from this big improvement will carry over to her
2011 results!
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