Yoon was just getting started, however, and in June and July she played better and better. She notched a tie for 6th at the Lotte Open at the start of June, and followed that with a third at the BC Card a few weeks later. But it was at the McCol Mona Park Open a week after that where she really burst into the limelight. In the final round, Jin Hee Im had taken a large lead and no one seemed to be able to challenge her. Ina started a run to do that. She made a spectacular long birdie on 17 to move to within two. The final hole was a long par 5 that no one, not even Ina, had been able to reach all week. She went for it. She pulverized her drive, then hit her second 240 meters and up 18 meters, and amazingly got on to the green to the stunned shouts of the commentators and fans. She missed the 30 foot eagle try by inches and lost, but her incredible final hole effort went viral in Korea, and she quickly tripled her Instagram following. A star was born.

A couple of weeks later, Ina won her first tournament, the Evercollagen Queens Crown, by sinking a fifteen foot birdie putt on the final hole. She was now second on the Rookie of the Year standings, just a few points behind Yewon, and had moved into the top 100 in the world rankings. It looked like the battle between these two great young stars was about to get really good.

But that's when everything fell apart for Ina. She had cheated by playing the wrong ball at the Korea Women's Open a month earlier (she still missed the cut by a lot), and decided to fess up when her caddie, whom she was about to let go, threatened to tell the press. As far as we know, this is the only illegal play she has ever made; she has been completely honest about it and cooperated with the KLPGA. And she voluntarily removed herself from competition while she waited two months for the tour to make a decision on her punishment. Their verdict was to ban her from the KLPGA for three years, an incredibly brutal sentence for the crime.

Since she withdrew from the tour, she has only twice publicly commented about her situation: once when she went to the KLPGA to get her punishment, and once in December when she held a fan meeting with the many fans who still supported her. In just half a season, she was able to make 385 million won, 23rd on the money list. She had the win, the second, one third, and five top tens. But as the months ticked by, there was no word on her plans. She was still training, but would she play somewhere other than Korea?

Her career took some interesting turns in 2023. Banned from the KLPGA, she apparently had a few offers to play elsewhere but turned them down. But then, in March, she suddenly showed up in America. She played on a tour called the Minor League Golf Tour. A MEN'S tour. She was in fact the only woman on that tour, playing from shorter tees. In about a dozen events on that tour, based in Florida, she didn't win, but did collect mostly top five finishes. She made about $13,000, which she donated entirely to girls' golf in the States. She even received a special plaque for her charity.

Fortunately, her sponsor Hite Beer agreed to honor her sponsor deal, which she had until the end of 2024. But nary a peep came from her. She didn't even do interviews when she played. Then in August, she returned to Korea and petitioned the KGA to reduce her punishment. She offered over 5,000 fan signatures on a petition. In September, the KGA halved her penalty, meaning she would be able to play the Korea Women's Open in 2024. It was the first good news she had had in a year.

The KLPGA, however, did nothing. Ina next petitioned them, but the months passed without a word from them. Finally in mid-December, they announced that they would make a formal decision at the next LKPGA board meeting. But they were apparently deadlocked and so put off the decision another month. On January 8, they finally did the same thing the KGA had done: halved her penlaty. This meant that she would be officially allowed back on the KLPGA after March 19.

The next day, Ina qualified to play on the WPGA, a women's golf tour located in Australia. She played an event there a few weeks later, the Vic Open, where she finished tied for 11th. She was at the event with Jiyai Shin, who had been training with her and who had taken the young player under her wing.

Ina returned to Korea and played in her first event in early April. She was paired with Youmin Hwang and Shin Sil Bang, two long hitting stars who had not been on tour when Ina had last played. The interest was explosive, and for much of the year, Ina was at the center of attention. Everything she did made news, from the way her fellow players treated her to the loudness of her fans to even the slightest rules controversies. Fortunately, Hwang and Bang were two players who were friends of hers and treated her well, but after her round she broke down in tears several times in front of the press. She apologized profusely for her mistakes. And she made sure that before each round, she would bow to the fans to thank them for giving her this chance. Her first event she finished tied for 34th, not bad considering her long absence from golf.

In her next event, she shot a 63 in the first round and finished just outside the top ten. A few weeks after that, she had her first top ten, a tie for 9th at the KLPGA Championship, and not long after that, she had her first chance to win, going toe to toe with Yewon Lee, the top player on tour. Lee won that one, but Ina's second place finish showed she was ready to compete.

For the next few months, she continued to play better and better. She finished top four at the Doosan Match Play, losing to Lee in the semifinals. Then at the BC Card, Ina looked like she had her first win in hand but made two late bogies and wound up in a playoff with Hyun Kyung Park and Ji Young Park. Hyun Kyung won, and the battle became the highest rated tilt of the year to date. She had another runner up result at the Lotte Open. She made a spectacular run in the final round to catch Ga Young Lee and force a playoff, but Lee won the tournament.

Finally, everything came together for her in August at the Samdasoo Masters. Ina seized the lead in the second round and hung on the rest of the week, getting her first win since her comeback. Although that was her only win in 2024, she continued to contend and put up great results week after week. She ended the year with 14 top tens, the most on tour, including a win, four seconds, three thirds and three more top fives. She led the money list with 1.211 billion won, won the Player of the Year, and had the low scoring average, sweeping the big three awards. She was third in Most Popular voting, second in driving distance, first in sand saves, and second in greens in regulation. She became the first player in several years to break an average of 4 birdies per round and led the league in par 5 scoring. She also led the league with the top world ranking, getting as high as 28th.

And she wasn't done. She went to Q-Series at the end of the year and finished solo 8th, earning a tour card for 2025. She was the only KLPGA golfer to earn one. She had a dicey round on day two but otherwise was very solid, culminating in a blistering 62 in round 4 that pretty much put away the card.

The fun is just beginning! How will Ina do in 2025? Will she be able to help the Koreans get back on top on the LPGA after several lackluster seasons? Stay tuned!