JENNIFER SONG

In the summer, she came over to the States and had more success. She finished tied for 39th at the US Women's Open, which tied her with Jennie Lee for low amateur. A little later she played the US Women's Amateur, and once again did great, advancing all the way to the quarterfinals before losing to her good friend Kimberly Kim in 21 holes.

In the Fall, Song was invited to play at the KLPGA's KB Star Tour #5 event, and made the most of it. She captured the first round lead, was third after two rounds, then moved up to second after three rounds, albeit six shots out of the lead held by Young Ran Jo. Unfortunately, she stumbled on the final day, shooting a 77 to fall to 11th. But it was still a great week in a pro event against a tough field.

Jennifer joined the USC golf team in the fall of 2008. 2009 proved to be an amazing and historic year for her. She just barely lost the NCAA championship, making costly mistakes on the last few holes to lose the lead. But she made up for that by winning the US Women's Amateur Pub Links a little later. Then, she finished low amateur, tied for 13th, at the US Women's Open. She followed that up by winning the US Women's Amateur, becoming only the second woman in history (after Pearl Sinn) to win both the WAPL and Amateur in the same year. Song was not even alive when Sinn did this in 1988.

Song continued her great achievements right into 2010. At that year's Kraft Nabisco Championship, she was in contention for several rounds, and was again low amateur, ending up tied for 21st. She finally turned pro in the middle of 2010, right after the Curtis Cup. She joined the Futures Tour, and in her very first professional tournament, the Tate & Lyle's Player's Championship, she cruised to a six shot victory after shooting rounds of 68-67-65 and a blistering, record tying 61. Her total score was also a four round Futures Tour record.

She continued to be brilliant the rest of the Futures Tour season. Though she started her year several months after the rest of the tour, she relentlessly worked her way up the money list. In her final four events, she finished 4th, 2nd, 1st and 2nd, losing the last event in a playoff to the top player on tour, Cindy LaCrosse. Meanwhile, Song managed to climb all the way to second on tour, which earned her full membership on the LPGA in 2011 (in her final event she moved from 4th to 2nd, showing she was improving week to week right to the end!).

Song had a surprisingly lackluster rookie season on the LPGA tour. She barely secured full status for 2012, finishing 79th on the money list. She had no top tens during the year, her best finish a tie for 16th at the Avnet Classic. She made the cut in one of the three Majors she played, and was not a factor in the Rookie of the Year race.

Song improved slightly in 2012. She scored her first top ten finish at the RR Donnelley in March, finishing tied for 6th. She also shot her career best round, a 66, at Kingsmill. She wound up making over $128,000 and finishing 71st on the money list, thus maintaining her full tour card.

2013 was a far weaker season for Jennifer. She only made about $36,000 and finished just 108th on the money list. She tried to improve her status at Q-School that Fall, but finished too far back. So her status was reduced to category 16 for 2014.

Song had a pretty good season in 2014, allowing her to climb back to full status (category 11) for 2015. She didn't have any top tens, but still made ~$124,000 during the year, which placed her 83rd on the money list. She should get into a whole lot more events in 2015!

The 2015 season was one of the best of Jennifer's career to date. She made more money, over $260,000, than any other year, and had her best money list finish, 67th. She had no top tens, but just missed one with a tie for 11th at the CME Group Tour Championship. She had five other top twenties as well.

Jennifer had an even better season in 2016. She set new marks for most money earned ($390,501), money list position (46th) and scoring average (71.56). By far her best result of the year came at the CME Tour Championship, where she shot three rounds in the 60s to finish solo third, her first career top five. She also managed ties for 17th at two of the year's Majors.

In many ways, 2017 was Jennifer's best season yet. She made the most money in a season to date, around $423,000, good for 48th on the money list. She also had her best ever performance at a Major when she scored her first career Major top ten at the Evian, a solo 8th. She followed that two weeks later with a 4th at the McKayson New Zealand Women's Open. Her scoring average (71.40) was also her career best.

Jennifer had an even better season in 2018. She set career bests for money earned ($626,000) and money list position (33rd). She had three top tens, including a 3rd at the Canadian Women's Open. But her best result came at the ANA Inspiration. She shot four rounds in the 60s and ended up in a playoff with Inbee Park and Pernilla Lindberg. She was eliminated after three holes, and Lindberg went on to beat Park in eight playoff holes. But Song's tie for 2nd was her best ever LPGA result.

Jennifer represented the LPGA at the OrangeLife Champions Trophy. She teamed with Chella Choi in a loss, and with Lydia Ko in a win. She lost her singles match to Ji Hyun Kim. The LPGA won the event 13-11.

2019 was a less successful year for Jennifer. She only had one top ten, an 8th, all season, and made just $160,000 all year. That was 85th on the money list, which dropped her tour status to category 11 for 2020.

In 2020, the whole world was rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic. The LPGA and KLPGA tours canceled and postponed many tournaments. Despite the disease, in many ways Jennifer had one of her best LPGA seasons. In her very first event of the year, she shot a 64, her all-time best score on tour, and finished tied for 11th. She managed back-to-back 7th place finishes at the Scottish and British Opens, and had a solo third at the ShopRite. In all she had 4 top tens and finished a career-best 27th on the LPGA money list.

Jennifer's 2021 season was not quite as good, but she still maintained her top status for 2022. She made a little over $208,000, finishing 82nd on the money list. She had just a single top ten, a tie for 8th at the Cambia Portland Classic.

Jennifer struggled even more in 2022. She only made $122,000 all year and fell to category 14 for 2022. Her best finish was a tie for 12th at the ShopRite Classic. She declined yet again in 2023. She missed eleven cuts, with her best finish a tie for 27th. She earned $54,000 all season.

She ended up back at Q Series in the Fall, but she had a secret weapon: her caddie was her good friend Amy Yang, who was coming off her huge win at the CME Group Tour Championship. With Amy's help, Jennifer finished tied for 17th, earning one of the last full cards for 2024.