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Ju Young Park is the younger sister of LPGA
star Hee Young Park. A good golfer in her own right, Ju Young
has found herself overshadowed most of her career by her older
sis.
Ju Young turned pro in 2009, after Hee Young
had already left Korea to play in America. It took her another
year before getting to the KLPGA, but she played on that tour
for the most part from 2010 - 2014. By and large she placed
in the middle of the pack on the money list; her best season
finding her 31st in earnings. She never won a tournament,
but did contend a few times, with two third place finishes
being her best results.
Ju Young also played in a couple of Hana Bank
Championships, the LPGA event that takes place every year
in Korea. At the 2013 edition, she shot a first round 67 and
found herself in or near the lead much of the first two days.
Alas, she struggled a bit on the final day and dropped to
a tie for 12th, but it was still a very solid week for her.
Park went to LPGA Qualifying School at the
end of 2014, and again was in or near the lead much of the
first few days. She struggled on the final day, but still
hung on to finish tied for 11th. She thus earned full tour
status for 2015, and joined her sister as one of two sister
combos on tour!
Alas, Ju Young did not have a good season
in 2015. She only earned about $20,000 all year, and made
just three cuts, her best finish being a tie for 27th. She
maintained very weak LPGA tour status, but returned to Korea
in 2016 anyway.
In the 2016 season, Park had a good year,
finishing 25th on the KLPGA money list with over 240 million
won earned. She had five top tens, her best finish a second
place at the Samdasoo Masters in August.
Ju Young finished 58th on the money list in
2017; she earned a tiny bit over 100 million won. Her best
finish was a 12th place at the Fantom Classic. In 2018, she
had a great season, earning over 300 million won and finishing
17th on the money list. She had six top tens, highlighted
by a runner up results and a pair of fourth place finishes.
Ju Young's 2019 season was also strong. She
finished 26th on the money list with over 282 million won
earned. She had six top tens which included a pair of third
place finishes. She finished tied for 38th at the LPGA's BMW
Championship.
In 2020, the whole world was rocked by the
Covid-19 pandemic. The LPGA and KLPGA tours canceled and postponed
many tournaments. Ju Young ended up playing a good number
of KLPGA events anyways. She earned 132 million won, finishing
39th on the money list. Her best finish was a third place
at the year's final Major, the KB Star Championship. It was
her only top ten of the year.
Ju Young had a better 2021 season. She earned
almost 439 million won, which placed her 17th on the money
list. Although she still hasn't won on tour, she did have
two runner up finishes in 2021, at the Doosan Match Play where
she lost to the unbeatable Min Ji Park in the finals, and
at the year's final event, the SK Telecom Championship. She
had four additional top tens.
In 2022, Ju Young only played until May, then
missed the rest of the season. It turned out that she gave
birth to her son and took the year off to raise him. She returned
to action in 2023 as one of the few mom golfers on the KLPGA.
It took her a while to get back into form, but by the summer
she was notching top tens, including a fifth at the Celltrion
Queens and a runner up at the BC Card.
Finally everything came together for her and
she won her first ever professional event at the Daebo HausD
Open. She had always said she would retire after she got a
win, but she changed her mind after her victory, one of the
most popular of the year. She also set the KLPGA record for
the longest wait before her first career win: 279 events,
or about 14 years. Even more interesting is that less than
a month before that, the record had been set by Yeon Jeong
Seo, who had been on tour 13 years before her first win.
In all, Ju Young had five top tens in 2023,
including the win and the second place. She earned 456 million
won, 18th on the money list. She may be the first player who
ever had her career best year after having a child!
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