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Tiffany Joh is one of a number of promising
young Korean American golfers who have been making their presence
felt in women's amateur golf. In 2005, she managed to making
it to the match play portion of the US Women's Amateur, where
she lost in the second round. But her most impressive result
came at that year's ANZ Ladies Masters. An important event
in Australia, where it is considered a Major, Tiffany qualified
for it because she had won the Aaron Baddely World Junior
Championship in 2004. She made the most of her time at the
ANZ, shooting a tournament record tying 63 in the second round,
which included a double eagle. She wound up finishing tied
for 13th.
In 2006, now a Freshman at UCLA, she was invited
to participate again in the ANZ, and far surpassed her earlier
results. In fact, she put herself into contention early, and
hovered around the lead all week. On Sunday, she played in
the final group with 16 year old Korean amateur Amy Yang and
French pro Ludivine Kreutz. After Tiffany made a birdie on
the 17th hole, she moved to within just one shot of Yang.
Yang hit her approach into the stands on 18, and Amy put her
third shot to within just a few feet. After Yang made bogey,
Joh just needed to make the short par putt to get into a playoff.
Alas, she missed it, and Yang went on to beat Catherine Cartwright
in the playoff, becoming the youngest winner in European Tour
history.
Although Tiffany didn't win, she finished
third. With her sparkling, bubbly personality and quickness
with a quip, she won legions of fans in Australia.
After her Freshman year, Tiffany played at
the US Women's Amateur Pub Links, one of the most important
events in women's Amateur golf. She played brilliantly, eventually
making it to the finals, where she confronted another Korean
American, 14 year old Hawaiian Kimberly Kim (whom Joh quickly
dubbed 'Kim Squared'). Kim had been playing well all week,
even destroying Mina Harigae, the number one amateur in the
country, by a score of 9 and 7. But she didn't have an answer
for Tiffany's methodical play, and Joh won the tournament
6 & 5.
In 2007, Tiffany continued to play at UCLA.
Among her highlights that year were finishing 5th at the NCAA
Championship and winning the PAC 10 Championship. She was
a second team All American. She also qualified to play at
the Safeway Classic, an LPGA event, and made the most of it,
capturing a top 25 finish.
In 2008, Tiffany captured the Women's Amateur
Pub Links Championship title for the second time, beating
good friend Jennifer Song along the way. She was also a member
of the Curtis Cup team that year, while continuing to be a
star player in the college ranks as a member of the UCLA golf
team.
Tiffany turned pro in 2009 and played a few
events on the Futures Tour. She aimed to play on the LPGA
tour in 2010, but failed to get a card at Qualifying School.
However, she won 2009 Futures Tour Q-School, giving her full
membership on that tour in 2010.
Tiffany's 2010 Futures Tour season was a good
one. She notched five top tens, made 15 of 16 cuts, and even
collected her first professional win at the ING New England
Golf Classic. All that was good enough to allow her to finish
8th on the money list. Thus she earned partial status on the
LPGA in 2011.
She had an up and down season on the LPGA
in 2011, but when she played well, she played really well.
Her first big splash came late in August at the CN Canadian
Women's Open, where she shot a third round 65 en route to
just missing her first top ten. Just a few weeks later in
Alabama, she shot another 65 at the Navistar to put herself
into contention on Sunday. Alas, this was the week that teen
star Alexis Thompson was playing by far the best golf of her
young career, and she simply could not be caught. But Tiff
still managed a solo second, her best finish by a ton.
In addition to her success on the LPGA, Joh
also notched a win on the Futures Tour in 2011. With her success
at gaining full exemption on tour for 2012, it is doubtful
she will be playing too many more Futures Tour events from
now on.
Joh also made a name for herself with her
quirky music videos. She would write songs, then get her fellow
players to appear in videos of the songs. In truth, she still
may be better known for these hilarious clips than for her
golf! Pay special attention to 'Yangster's Paradise', her
homage to the Korean golfers on the LPGA tour!
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