In 2012, the year she turned 19, she joined the KLPGA. In 2013, she led the second-tier Dream Tour money list, and in December she signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Nefs. In 2014, she moved up to the main tour and ended her first season 8th in the Rookie of the Year standings.
The breakthrough yearIn June 2015, the year she turned 22, she won her first KLPGA Tour title at the Korea Women’s Open, a major. It was her second year as a pro, and Yonhap News Agency says the win made her a star. She had three wins that year, including the Pak Se-ri Invitational in October, and in December she won the Hyundai China Ladies Open, the opening event of the KLPGA 2016 season.
In 2016, she won seven times on the KLPGA Tour and led the money list with 1,333,090,000 won. In November she announced that she would play on the LPGA Tour the next year. The year she turned 24, she joined the LPGA Tour and won the U.S. Women’s Open in July and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in August. In November she became the first rookie to reach No. 1 in the world ranking, won Rookie of the Year and the money title, and shared Player of the Year.
In 2018, she won the Texas Classic in May, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in July and the Indy Women in Tech Championship in August, for three wins on the season. In 2019, she won the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in July, her seventh LPGA win.
In 2020, she missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open and did not reach the season finale, and she had no win that year. In October 2021, she came back from the U.S. to play the KLPGA Hite Jinro Championship. In October 2022, she finished third at the same event. In October 2023, she played it again as a sponsor’s invitee.
In 2024, she took medical leave and did not play on the LPGA Tour, and in December she signed a sponsorship deal with Mohegan Inspire. In 2025, she missed the cut in 10 of 17 events and did not secure a full LPGA Tour card.
The year she turned 33, she made a hole-in-one at The Siena Open in April and made her debut on the Epson Tour, the LPGA’s second tier, that month. She made the cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June and played the Hite Jinro Championship in October.
Park Sung-hyun (born 1993) debuted on the KLPGA Tour in 2014, the year she turned 21, and became known on Jun 21, 2015, the year she turned 22, when she won her first title at the Korea Women’s Open. On Jul 17, 2017, the year she turned 24, she won the U.S. Women’s Open on the LPGA Tour.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Joined the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA).
Source 35 · Edaily (Korean) · Hite Jinro Championship opens · opens in a new tab The year is from the Edaily article of Oct. 2, 2026. The exact date was not confirmed.Won once on the second-tier tour but made the top 10 in 10 of 19 events and finished first on the money list. Her scoring average of 69.63 was second.
Source 02 · Seoul Economic Daily (Korean) · Second-tier money leader · opens in a new tabSource 03 · Weekly Donga (Korean) · Rookie of the Year contender · opens in a new tab The date she clinched the money title was not confirmed.Signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Nefs, together with Ko Jin-young. That year she led the Dream Tour money list and was second on the Jump Tour money list.
Source 01 · Newsis (Korean) · Nefs sponsorship deal · opens in a new tabMoved up to the top-tier tour as the second-tier money leader. In her first season she made the top 10 three times in 24 events and ranked 8th in the Rookie of the Year standings.
Source 04 · News1 (Korean) · LPGA Rookie, money and Player of the Year · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Seoul Economic Daily (Korean) · Second-tier money leader · opens in a new tab The debut date was not confirmed. Seoul Economic Daily (Dec. 16, 2013) announced a debut for April of the following year.Led alone going into the final round but could not lower her score that day and finished alone in third at 10 under, 206. She missed out on a first KLPGA Tour win; it was her second top-10 of the season.
Source 05 · MK Sports (Korean) · MBN Ladies Open · opens in a new tabWon her first title at a major, held at Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon, at 1 over, 289. She received 200 million won in prize money and a four-year full-exempt card.
Won at Solmoro Country Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, at 10 under, 206, one stroke ahead of Kim Ji-hyun and Kim Hae-rym. It followed her win at the KDB Daewoo Securities Classic in September, two weeks earlier, and with the Korea Women’s Open made three wins that year.
Source 09 · News1 (Korean) · Pak Se-ri Invitational win · opens in a new tabWon wire to wire at Mission Hills in Haikou, China, at 17 under, 199, two strokes ahead of Kim Hyo-joo. The KLPGA counts this event as the opening event of its 2016 season.
Source 10 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Hyundai China Ladies Open win · opens in a new tabSource 11 · News1 (Korean) · 2016 KLPGA awards ceremony · opens in a new tab It was the last event of 2015 and the opening event of the KLPGA 2016 season, so it counts among her seven wins in 2016.At a press conference in Seoul, she officially announced that she would join the LPGA Tour in 2017. She had earned $682,000 in seven LPGA events as an invitee, which had all but secured a full card.
Source 12 · News1 (Korean) · Announces move to the LPGA · opens in a new tabReceived the awards for most wins, money leader, lowest scoring average, best player and popularity. She won seven times, and her 1,333,090,000 won in prize money set a single-season record at the time. The Player of the Year award went to Ko Jin-young.
Source 11 · News1 (Korean) · 2016 KLPGA awards ceremony · opens in a new tabSource 12 · News1 (Korean) · Announces move to the LPGA · opens in a new tabWon at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey at 11 under, 277. It was her first win in her 14th LPGA Tour start, and she was the ninth Korean player to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
Source 13 · Star News (Korean) · U.S. Women’s Open win · opens in a new tabSource 14 · Sports Donga (Korean) · U.S. Women’s Open win · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time.Started the final round tied for 12th, shot a 7-under 64 with seven birdies and no bogeys, and came from behind to win at 13 under, 271. It was her second win of the season.
Source 15 · News1 (Korean) · Canadian Pacific Women’s Open win · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time.Became No. 1 in the Rolex ranking announced on Nov. 6. No rookie had reached No. 1 before in LPGA Tour history, and she gave up the spot to Feng Shanshan after one week.
Source 16 · Sports Kyunghyang (Korean) · First rookie to reach No. 1 in the world · opens in a new tabSource 04 · News1 (Korean) · LPGA Rookie, money and Player of the Year · opens in a new tab Date is the ranking announcement date.Finished tied for 6th at the CME Group Tour Championship to clinch the money title with $2,335,883 for the season, and shared the Player of the Year award with Ryu So-yeon on equal points. Newsis reports that no player had won Rookie of the Year, the money title and Player of the Year in the same season in 39 years.
Source 17 · Newsis (Korean) · First sweep in 39 years · opens in a new tabSource 04 · News1 (Korean) · LPGA Rookie, money and Player of the Year · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time.Won by one stroke at 11 under, 131, in an event cut to 36 holes by bad weather. It was her first win in nine months, since the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in August of the previous year, and her third LPGA win.
Source 18 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Texas Classic win · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time.At Kemper Lakes Golf Club in Illinois she tied Ryu So-yeon and Nasa Hataoka at 10 under, 278, then beat Ryu So-yeon on the second playoff hole. It was her second major, after the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open, and her fourth LPGA win.
Source 19 · News1 (Korean) · KPMG Women’s PGA Championship win · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time.Tied Lizette Salas at 23 under, 265, then won with a birdie on the first playoff hole. It was her third win of the season and fifth overall, and it assured her of a return to No. 1 in the world ranking.
Source 20 · News1 (Korean) · Indy Women in Tech Championship win · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time.Shot an 8-under 64 in the final round at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore and finished at 15 under, 273, two strokes ahead of Minjee Lee. It was her sixth win.
Source 21 · News1 (Korean) · HSBC Women’s World Championship win · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time.Finished at 18 under, 195, one stroke ahead of Park In-bee and Kim Hyo-joo, who tied for second, for her second win of the season and seventh LPGA win. In the world ranking announced the next day she went to No. 1 for the fourth time.
Source 22 · Newsis (Korean) · Walmart NW Arkansas Championship win · opens in a new tabSource 23 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Back to No. 1 in the world · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time. The local date is June 30.Missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open and did not qualify for the season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship. With no win that year, her streak of winning in every year since 2015 ended, Edaily reports.
Source 24 · Edaily (Korean) · Misses the cut at the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time.Back from the U.S., she played the last major of the KLPGA Tour season. It was held over four days at Blue Heron Golf Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.
Source 25 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · Hite Jinro Championship preview · opens in a new tab The final result was not confirmed.Finished third at a tournament in Korea. News1 reports that to that point she had missed the cut in 8 of 17 LPGA Tour events that year.
Source 26 · News1 (Korean) · BMW Ladies Championship first round · opens in a new tabPlayed her first KLPGA Tour event of the year as a sponsor’s invitee. She said it was exactly one year since her last event in Korea.
Source 27 · Dailian (Korean) · Hite Jinro Championship preview · opens in a new tab The final result was not confirmed.Signed a one-year sponsorship deal at a ceremony on Yeongjong Island in Incheon. Seoul Economic Daily reports that she took medical leave that year and did not play a single LPGA Tour event, and missed the cut in both events she played in Korea.
Source 28 · Edaily (Korean) · Inspire sponsorship deal · opens in a new tabSource 29 · Seoul Economic Daily (Korean) · 2025 season outlook · opens in a new tabPlayed 17 events, missed the cut in 10 and finished 119th in CME Globe points, so she did not keep a full card for the next season. 2025 was the last season of her remaining LPGA status.
Source 30 · Edaily (Korean) · Takes on the Epson Tour · opens in a new tabSource 29 · Seoul Economic Daily (Korean) · 2025 season outlook · opens in a new tabPlaying as an invitee in the KLPGA’s domestic season opener in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, she made a hole-in-one on the par-3, 162-yard 4th hole in the third round. She finished the tournament tied for 13th.
Source 31 · SBS (Korean) · The Siena Open hole-in-one · opens in a new tabSource 35 · Edaily (Korean) · Hite Jinro Championship opens · opens in a new tab The tie for 13th is from the Edaily article of Oct. 2, 2026, which says it is her best result in a domestic event this year so far.Having lost her LPGA Tour status, she played the IOA Championship in Beaumont, California, looking to rebuild on the Epson Tour. She finished tied for 33rd at 1 under, 215 after three rounds.
Source 30 · Edaily (Korean) · Takes on the Epson Tour · opens in a new tabSource 32 · Golf Hankook (Korean) · Epson Tour debut · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time.As the 2018 champion, she played the event at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota and made the cut tied for 55th at 1 over, 145 after two rounds. Edaily reports that she finished tied for 42nd.
Source 33 · Golf Hankook (Korean) · KPMG Women’s PGA Championship second round · opens in a new tabSource 35 · Edaily (Korean) · Hite Jinro Championship opens · opens in a new tab Date is in Korea time. The date of the final round was not confirmed.Played in Korea after splitting this year between the LPGA Tour and the Epson Tour. She said she had no status on either the U.S. or Korean tours and was weighing what to do next.
Source 34 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · BC Card–Hankyung KLPGA Championship final round · opens in a new tabShot a 1-under 71 in the second round at Blue Heron Golf Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, and made the cut at 4 over, 148 through two rounds. She said she had not yet decided whether she would play in the U.S. or Korea next year.
Source 35 · Edaily (Korean) · Hite Jinro Championship opens · opens in a new tabSource 36 · MHN Sports (Korean) · Hite Jinro Championship second round · opens in a new tab Results of the later rounds were not confirmed.END OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2012–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
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Sports · South Korea
1993 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1993: the year of the event minus 1993, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.10.03 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.