SOO YOUNG MOON

The Facts

Capsule Bio

Soo Young Moon started golfing at the age of 13. After winning several amateur events, she led the Pacific Asia Tour in 2001. She turned pro in May, 2002, and made the cut in her first LPGA event, the U.S. Open. She finished tied for 38th at 2002 Q-School, earning non-exempt status.

In 2003, she was still only 19 years old, and was the second youngest player on tour that year (behind Christina Kim). However, she focused on the Futures Tour, winning the first event she played on that tour in 2003. She was leading their money list when she got into a car accident that forced her to miss several weeks to recuperate. When she got back she won a second time, and had several more near misses. She ended up finishing second on the Futures Tour money list, which earned her an exempt card for the 2004 LPGA tour.

Moon had a so-so season in 2004; she was able to maintain her tour card thanks largely to a 4th place finish at the Corning Classic, but ended up only 88th on the money list. 2005 started out well for her; she even notched a top five in an early event in Mexico. But she played no events at all after May due to injuries. She took an injury exception, and was thus able to maintain her exempt status in 2006.

She took advantage. In her very first event back, the SBS Open, she got into a playoff with Joo Mi Kim and Lorena Ochoa for the title. She outlasted Ochoa, but Kim beat her on the second playoff hole. The rest of her 2006 LPGA results were fairly poor, but she did win an event on the KLPGA tour in July. 2007 was another mediocre year for Moon, although she did manage to hang on to an exempt card by finishing in the top 90 on the money list. She played several KLPGA events that year, signaling a growing interest in that tour.

In 2008, after playing a few events early in the year on the LPGA, Moon focused almost exclusively on the KLPGA, where her highlight was a second place finish at the 2nd KB Star Tour event.

Moon returned to playing in Korea full time in 2009, losing her playing privileges in America in the process. She had an all right season that year on the KLPGA, finishing 22nd on the money list and achieving three top tens. Her best finish by far came at the Hill State Kyeongjae Open, where she had a shot at the win and finished 2nd.

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