SUN YOUNG YOO

The Facts

Capsule Bio

As an amateur, Sun Young Yoo had some success both here and in Korea. She was a member of the Korean national team in 2002 and 2004, and in 2004 won the Korean Amateur Championship. She also made it to the quarterfinals in the 2004 US Women's Amateur, and finished 4th at the 2004 Women's World Golf Team Championship.

She turned pro in 2005 and joined the Futures Tour, where she immediately made a big splash. She ended up making all 18 cuts and compiling 10 top tens during 2005. Thus, she hovered around the top five on the money list all year.

She cemented her spot in the top five, and thus her exempt tour card for the LPGA for 2006, by winning one of the last events of the year, the Betty Puskar FUTURES Golf Classic. She ended up fifth on the money list, gaining the last card. She also won Futures Tour rookie of the Year as a result.

She had a solid LPGA rookie campaign in 2006, easily securing her exempt status for 2007. The highlight was a 5th place finish at the John Q. Hammons in September. Her 2007 season was just a little worse, but she still maintained her exempt status for 2008 with ease.

2008 proved to be a breakout season for Sun Young. She put herself into contention several times and compiled three top four finishes in the process, including her career best finish of tied for third at the Corning Classic. She made well over $500,000 and finished in the top 30 on the money list for the first time.

Yoo continued her great play in 2009. She managed four more top tens and her best ever Major, a tie for 12th at the Nabisco. Her top moment for the year came at the P & G Beauty; she charged in the final round and wound up in a playoff with Jiyai Shin and Angela Stanford. Though she lost, it was her first ever professional playoff and career best finish. She finished the year playing for the first time at the Kyoraku Cup, and with a career best 23rd on the money list.

2010 saw Yoo break into the win column for the first time. The event was the Sybase Match Play, and Yoo certainly did not have an easy draw. But she proved unstoppable, mowing down #5 Cristie Kerr in round 2, #12 Song Hee Kim in round 3, #4 Ya Ni Tseng in the quarterfinals, #1 Jiyai Shin in the semis, and #10 Angela Stanford in the finals. Thanks to the win, Yoo finished 16th on the money list, her first time in the top 20.

Yoo's 2011 season was only slightly worse than her 2010 campaign. She finished in the top 25 in three of the year's four Majors, including a tie for 7th at the British Women's Open, her first ever top ten in a Major. She had 6 total top tens and finished 25th on the money list. Her best finish of the season was a fourth place at the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore.

Yoo had a fantastic 2012 season, highlighted by her first Major win and largest money total for a season (over $781,000). Yoo had a second place finish at the Kia Classic, but that was just a warmup for what happened the following week at the year's first Major, the Kraft Nabisco. Yoo put herself into great position on the weekend, and in the final round posted a 9 under par total, then waited to see what would happen. It looked like IK Kim, who was at 10 under, would take the trophy. But Kim inexplicably missed a one foot par save on the final hole, forcing a playoff. Yoo beat the shellshocked Kim in one playoff hole with a birdie, and took the victory dive into Poppy's Pond.

Yoo had four top tens during the year and finished second in greens in regulation for the year.

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