CECILIA CHO

The Facts

Capsule Bio

Cecilia Cho was born in South Korea, and moved to New Zealand with her family when she was 8 years old. She took up the game of golf after that, when she went to a driving range with some friends. Within a few years, she became one of the top junior golfers in New Zealand.

In 2009, Cho won the New Zealand National Amateur Golf Championship, beating the even younger Korean New Zealander Lydia Ko in the final.

In 2010, Cho won the Srixon Women's Australian Stroke Play Championship, becoming the youngest to ever accomplish that feat. She lost in the final of the Australian Amateur Championship, a match play event.

Cho's star continued to rise in 2011. By March she rose all the way to the #1 world amateur ranking in women's golf. At this point, however, her rivalry with good friend Ko heated up. Ko claimed the Australian Stroke Play title by beating Cho in a two hole playoff. Cho lost the Australian Amateur in the semifinals to yet another Australasian Korean, Min Jee Lee.

Galleries

Cho then finished second by nine strokes to Ko at the New Zealand Stroke Play Championship. This event set up the draw for the New Zealand Match Play Championship, which once again ended up being a final matchup between Cho and Ko. And once again, Ko triumphed, beating her friend 4 and 3 in the final despite the fact Cho had won the event the two previous years. This allowed Ko to rise to #1 in the amateur rankings, knocking Cho down to #2.

Cho also had a couple of impressive results in professional events in 2011. She finished 35th at the Australian Women's Open, but really impressed by finishing tied for 5th at the RACV Australian Ladies Masters. She was the top finisher of Korean heritage in that year's field.

Cho ended 2011 third in the world amateur rankings.

In February, 2012, Cho played her final event as an amateur, finishing tied for 12th at the New Zealand Women's Golf Open. On turning pro, she officially reverted to using her Korean name and citizenship and joined the KLPGA tour. She played mostly on the developmental Dream Tour in 2012, where she finished 6th on their money list and had 7 top tens including a win.

Cho played on the KLPGA tour in 2013, with her best finish being an 11th place. She finished 66th on the money list for the year. She played on the Dream Tour in 2014, but finished 8th at KLPGA Q-School and returned to the KLPGA full time in 2015.

She had a good season on the KLPGA in 2015. She finished 30th on the money list and notched five top tens, including a 2nd and two third place finishes.

Cho had a breakthrough year on the KLPGA in 2016. She finished 9th on the money list with over 550 million won earned. She collected a surprise win at the limited field Dalat Championship in Vietnam early in the year, and followed that up with a full field win at the Caido MBC Plus Ladies Open in July. She also had runner-up finishes at the Hite Cup and the Nexen Saint Nine Masters, and had a total of 11 top tens for the year.

Cho also represented the KLPGA at the ING Champions and the Kowa Queens team events. At the Kowa, Cho won her singles match against Yukari Nishiyama and a team match against Europe when teamed with Jin Young Ko. At the ING, Cho won one of her two team matches when paired with Seon Woo Bae. She lost to Mi Hyang Lee in singles 1 down.

Cecilia played on the KLPGA again in 2017, but did not have quite the level of achievement as the previous year. She finished 17th on the money list with a little more than 300 million won earned. She had a pair of runner-up finishes but no wins.

Cho had a decent season on the KLPGA in 2018. She finished 9th on the money list with nearly 500 million won in earnings. She had eight top tens, which included one win and two runner up finishes. She also played two LPGA events, with her best finish a tie for 21st at the KEB Hana Bank.

Cecilia played on the KLPGA team at the OrangeLife Champions Trophy team event. She teamed with Jeong Eun Lee 6 to square a match against Jenny Shin and Mi Hyang Lee, and squared a second match teamed with So Young Lee against So Yeon Ryu and Danielle Kang. Jenny Shin beat Cho in singles 3 & 2. The LPGA won the tournament 13-11.

Cecilia had another strong season on the KLPGA in 2019. She earned almost 700 million won for the year, good for 7th on the money list. She had two wins: the Centrion Masters in April and the BC Card in June. She had a total of nine top tens during the year, including three runner up finishes.

Cecilia also played on the KLPGA team at the Orange Life team championship. She teamed with rookie of the year Ayean Cho to beat Hyo Joo Kim and Eun Hee Ji 4 & 2, but lost to her old New Zealand rival Lydia Ko in the singles 3 & 2. The KLPGA won the tournament 15-9.

In 2020, the world was hit with the Covid19 pandemic. All sports leagues, including the LPGA and KLPGA, were massively affected by it; many events were canceled or shifted around the schedule, and fans were forbidden from attending. Cecilia finished 71st on the money list with nearly 62 million won earned. It was not a great year, with her best finish a 19th place. But she was still able to keep her KLPGA tour card for 2021.

However, Cecilia's struggles continued in 2021. She only made 38 million won, just 96th on the money list. At one point, she missed 12 cuts in a row. Her best finish was a 26th. She returned to Q-School, but was not able to get status for 2022. She played on the Dream Tour in 2022, but failed to earn KLPGA status for 2023.

In 2023, Cecilia focused mostly on the Dream Tour, although she did play two events on the KLPGA, finishing 57th in both. In early 2024, she shifted her play in the Winter to Australia, where she competed on the WPGA. She finished solo third at the Vic Open, the biggest event of the tour; it was one of her best finishes in a long while.