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In 2006, now a Freshman at UCLA, she was invited
to participate again in the ANZ, and far surpassed her earlier
results. In fact, she put herself into contention early, and
hovered around the lead all week. On Sunday, she played in
the final group with 16 year old Korean amateur Amy Yang and
French pro Ludivine Kreutz. After Tiffany made a birdie on
the 17th hole, she moved to within just one shot of Yang.
Yang hit her approach into the stands on 18, and Amy put her
third shot to within just a few feet. After Yang made bogey,
Joh just needed to make the short par putt to get into a playoff.
Alas, she missed it, and Yang went on to beat Catherine Cartwright
in the playoff, becoming the youngest winner in European Tour
history.
Although Tiffany didn't win, she finished
third. With her sparkling, bubbly personality and quickness
with a quip, she won legions of fans in Australia.
After her Freshman year, Tiffany played at
the US Women's Amateur Pub Links, one of the most important
events in women's Amateur golf. She played brilliantly, eventually
making it to the finals, where she confronted another Korean
American, 14 year old Hawaiian Kimberly Kim (whom Joh quickly
dubbed 'Kim Squared'). Kim had been playing well all week,
even destroying Mina Harigae, the number one amateur in the
country, by a score of 9 and 7. But she didn't have an answer
for Tiffany's methodical play, and Joh won the tournament
6 & 5.
In 2007, Tiffany continued to play at UCLA.
Among her highlights that year were finishing 5th at the NCAA
Championship and winning the PAC 10 Championship. She was
a second team All American. She also qualified to play at
the Safeway Classic, an LPGA event, and made the most of it,
capturing a top 25 finish.
In 2008, Tiffany captured the Women's Amateur
Pub Links Championship title for the second time, beating
good friend Jennifer Song along the way. She was also a member
of the Curtis Cup team that year, while continuing to be a
star player in the college ranks as a member of the UCLA golf
team.
Tiffany turned pro in 2009 and played a few
events on the Futures Tour. She aimed to play on the LPGA
tour in 2010, but failed to get a card at Qualifying School.
However, she won 2009 Futures Tour Q-School, giving her full
membership on that tour in 2010.
Tiffany's 2010 Futures Tour season was a good
one. She notched five top tens, made 15 of 16 cuts, and even
collected her first professional win at the ING New England
Golf Classic. All that was good enough to allow her to finish
8th on the money list. Thus she earned partial status on the
LPGA in 2011.
She had an up and down season on the LPGA
in 2011, but when she played well, she played really well.
Her first big splash came late in August at the CN Canadian
Women's Open, where she shot a third round 65 en route to
just missing her first top ten. Just a few weeks later in
Alabama, she shot another 65 at the Navistar to put herself
into contention on Sunday. Alas, this was the week that teen
star Alexis Thompson was playing by far the best golf of her
young career, and she simply could not be caught. But Tiff
still managed a solo second, her best finish by a ton.
In addition to her success on the LPGA, Joh
also notched a win on the Futures Tour in 2011. With her success
at gaining full exemption on tour for 2012, it is doubtful
she will be playing too many more Futures Tour events from
now on.
Joh also made a name for herself with her
quirky music videos. She would write songs, then get her fellow
players to appear in videos of the songs. In truth, she still
may be better known for these hilarious clips than for her
golf! Pay special attention to 'Yangster's Paradise', her
homage to the Korean golfers on the LPGA tour!
2012 was a far weaker year for Tiffany than
2011. She finished 101st on the money list with a little more
than $48,000 in earnings; her status thus slipped to category
16. Her best official finish was a tie for 33rd at the Sybase
Match Play.
In 2013, she played on the LPGA a few times,
with no outstanding results, and on the Symetra Tour a few
times. But her big breakthrough came at the end of the year
at Q-School, where she finished solo third and earned a full
tour card for 2014.
Joh made good use of her status in 2014. She
notched her best Major finish, a T-16th at the Nabisco, and
made $200,607, good for 67th on the money list. Thus she maintained
her full status for another year.
Tiffany's 2015 season was not nearly as strong
as 2014 had been, and she fell to category 11 status for 2016.
She had no top tens, her best finish a tie for 13th at the
Yokohama Tire Classic. She made about $114,000 for the year,
finishing 84th on the money list.
Tiffany had a lackluster season in 2016. She
maintained her category 11 status, with her best finish a
tie for 11th at the Swinging Skirts Classic in April. One
highlight was a 64 at the ShopRite Classic in July, her best
ever round. She finished 83rd on the money list with $172,233
earned.
Early in 2017, Tiffany received a scare when
she was diagnosed with skin cancer. After having some cancerous
regions removed from her scalp, she was cleared of the disease
in February. She played well all season, making just a bit
below her best season total money and achieving a scoring
average just a touch worse than her best. As a result, she
moved up to category 1 for 2018.
In 2018, she earned around $195,000, good
for 81st on the money list. As a result, Tiffany was able
to maintain full status for 2019. Her best finish was a tie
for 8th at the Scottish Ladies Open.
Joh had a good season in 2019: she made nearly
$250,000, her career best. She had two top tens: a tie for
3rd and a tie for 5th in back to back weeks in July. This
was good enough to earn her category 1 status for 2020.
In 2020, the whole world was rocked by the
Covid-19 pandemic. The LPGA and KLPGA tours canceled and postponed
many tournaments. Tiffany played a lot on the LPGA, her best
finish a tie for 11th at the Vic Open before the pandemic
hit. She earned a little more than $37,000 all year, which
put her at 116th on the money list. Fortunately, the LPGA
decided to extend tour membership into 2021 due to the pandemic,
so she did not lose her tour status.
However, Tiffany struggled throughout 2021.
She only made three cuts, her best finish being a tie for
52nd. Seeing the writing on the wall, Tiffany retired at the
end of the season. Good luck to her in her future adventures!
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