MI JEONG JEON

The Facts

Capsule Bio

Mi Jeong Jeon is a Korean golfer who focus primarily on playing on the JLPGA tour. She turned pro in late 2002, and played on the KLPGA for a short while before moving to the more lucrative Japanese ladies tour. She had some success on the KLPGA, including several wins.

On the JLPGA, she has perennially been one of the top Koreans on that tour. In 2007, she managed an amazing feat: she became the first player to win three straight events on that tour since 1988. First she won the Yashima Queens tournament in April. In her next event, she beat both Japanese top player Momoko Ueda and LPGA Hall of Famer Karrie Webb. For the third straight win, she beat Japanese superstar Yuri Fudoh in a six hole playoff. This brought her career JLPGA win total to 6, and made her, for a little while, the top player on the JLPGA tour.

Jeon continued her great play in 2008. She contended several times before winning her first event of the year in June at the Resort Trust Ladies Championship. She won her second event of the year just a few weeks later to become the top Korean on tour. Jeon continued to rack up top tens, including losing the CAT Ladies event thanks to a final hole bogey. At one point, she climbed to the top spot on the JLPGA money list.

Jeon had another great season in Japan in 2009; she finished 4th on the money list with 11 top fives in 29 starts, including 4 wins. She also played a few times outside of Japan with some good results. She contended for the win at the KLPGA's Hite Cup, but a final round 80 killed her chances. She just missed a top ten at the Evian Masters, but did make her first LPGA top ten at the Mizuno, an event won by her fellow tour member Bo Bae Song. She also played on the Kyoraku Cup, helping Korea to the win with two wins in her matches.

Jeon had another great season on the JLPGA in 2010. She finished third on the money list with three wins and two more third place finishes, and achieved a total of 13 top tens during the season. It was her 5th straight season in the top six on the JLPGA money list.

Jeon took a while to win her first JLPGA event of 2011: her only win came in the final event of the year. Fortunately, it was a Major: the Ricoh Cup. She went wire-to-wire in the lead, capturing the 17th win of her JLPGA career. Jeon wound up 6th on the year's money list with around 67 million yen, her 6th straight season in the top 6.

Jeon also played a few LPGA events in 2011. Her best ever result in a Major (that I'm aware of) came at the US Women's Open, where she finished tied for 24th.

Jeon also made news in 2011 by donating 10 million yen to Japan earthquake relief. "It's nothing compared to the support I've received from my Japanese fans", she said.

Galleries