Updated: January, 2024

JI YOUNG OH

The Facts

Birthday: July 3, 1988
Rookie Year on LPGA: 2007
Birthplace: South Korea
American Home Base: Florida
LPGA Wins: 2
Majors: 0
(Best Finish: T-16th, 2014 Evian Championship)

Best Score: 64 (2010 Safeway Classic)

Best Scoring Average for a year: 71.65 (2008)
Best Season money total: $680,241 (2008)
Best Season Money Position: 26th (2008)
Most Top Tens/Season: 4 (2008)

Rookie of the Year Finish: 8th
Height: 5' 7"
2024 LPGA Status: retired; Category 17
Nicknames: None Known
Sponsors: None
How's her English?: Still learning
Hobbies: Listening to music
Road to the LPGA: Finished tied for 9th at 2006 LPGA Q-School to earn exempt status for 2007.

Capsule Bio

Ji Young Oh started playing golf when she was 12 years old. She quickly became a star in Korea, where by 2005 she had made the national team.

In 2006, she came to the States and enrolled at the Leadbetter Academy. She played on the Future Collegians World Tour, a second tier amateur golf league, and won all six events she entered. Her average winning score was an astounding 7.5 strokes. At the end of the year she entered LPGA Q-School, where she finished tied for 9th to earn exempt status for 2007. She turned pro immediately thereafter.

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Ji Young's rookie season started in rough fashion, with her missing the cut in 9 of her first 11 events. In the other two she came close to making top twenties, however, so at least there was some promise there. But her rookie season reached a turning point at the Safeway Classic in August. She took the first round lead and played with Lorena Ochoa in the final group on day 2. Only a final hole bogey prevented her from finishing with a top five; she wound up 6th.

Although she would not make another top ten, she played well in three of her remaining four events of the year, including a tie for 12th at the Kolon-Hana Bank Championship. She easily maintained her exempt status for 2008.

Ji Young's breakout season came in 2008. She only missed one cut in the first half of the year, and notched a top ten. But she really started to cruise in the summer. She finished 10th at the Jamie Farr, then stunned everyone with her first win the following week at the State Farm Classic. Even more impressively, she beat super rookie Yani Tseng in a playoff to do it. She earned well over $600,000 by the end of the year, and made the cut in all four Majors, including her first top 20 in a Major at the British Open.

2009 was another very good season for Ji Young. She had almost an identical money list position as in 2008, finishing 24th. She also chalked up her second career win at the Sybase Classic, and did it in dominating fashion; she never looked like she would lose from the time she had a hole in one in the first round.

In the off-season, Ji Young trained with Jiyai Shin in Australia. She worked very hard on her fitness in particular. But Oh didn't win in 2010, and actually had a significantly worse season than her two previous years. In fact, she didn't even manage a top ten. Her 72nd place finish on the money list was still good enough for her to maintain full status for 2011.

Oh's struggles got worse in 2011. She made only one cut all year, and that was a 54th place finish. She would not have even had status on tour were it not for her two wins, which gave her category 4 status for 2012.

Things got slightly better for Oh in 2012. She made all but five cuts, but did not have a better finish than a tie for 42nd. She wound up 109th on the money list, which allowed her to hang on to limited tour status for 2013.

Oh made something of her limited status that season. She played in 18 tournaments, making 12 cuts. Though she earned only about $85,000, it was enough to finish 87th on the money list, which improved her tour status slightly to category 11 for 2014.

Oh's comeback continued in 2014. She actually had her best ever Major finish, a T-16th at the Evian. She made over $170,000 and finished 73rd on the money list, which allowed her to climb to category 1 status. The other highlight of Oh's year came when she served as one of the four bridesmaids at the wedding of Korean golf superstar Inbee Park.

Oh made about $55,000 in 2015, her best finish being a tie for 25th. She finished 110th on the money list, and so earned limited status for the 2016 season. In 2016, she had an even weaker season, earning just $32,000 and finishing 136th on the money list. She missed most of her cuts, with her best finish a tie for 26th at the Manulife Classic, her final event of the season.

Oh played five times on the LPGA in 2017, but missed all the cuts. She had category 18 status for 2018, but decided to retire.

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