Jin Young Ko’s victory at the 2021 BMW Ladies Championship brought about a number of individual successes, but it represented so much more.
Ko’s 11th career victory is the 200th for South Korean players on the LPGA.
That she accomplished the feat on South Korean soil made it all the more special. She joins Ok-Hee ku (the first), Ju Mi Kim (50th), So Yeon Ryu (100th) and Amy Yang (150th) as South Koreans to enjoy milestone victories for their country.
Here are the winningest South Korean players in LPGA history, beginning with Se Ri Pak, the most legendary of them all.
“There isn’t a player on tour – both the men’s and women’s tour – that has not been effected, at least indirectly, by Se Ri,” said Christina Kim on the day Pak retired.
“She changed the world.”
Se Ri Pak takes a selfie with golfers during her retirement ceremony on the 18th green after the first round of the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship. Photo by Getty Images
Se Ri Pak, now retired, kickstarted a golf revolution in South Korea when she won the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run. She left the game with $12,583,713 in career earnings, 123 career top-10 finishes and 25 victories. She was the first South Korean to be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame, and the impact of her 19-year career is unmatched in the women’s game. The success of South Korean players on the LPGA swept throughout Asia in the ensuing decades, forming a truly global tour.
Inbee Park poses for a picture with her trophy while her parents, Sungja Kim and Gungyu Park, kiss her after she won the U.S. Women’s Open. Photo by Getty Images
Inbee Park, a seven-time major winner, became only the fourth LPGA player to win three majors in a calendar year in 2013. The 2016 Olympic gold medalist became eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame that same year. Park, inspired by the success of Pak, moved to the United States at age 12 and became a force on the AJGA circuit and in USGA events. At age 19, she became the youngest player to ever win the U.S. Women’s Open.
Sei Young Kim poses with the trophy after winning the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Joined the LPGA in 2015 and won her first major in dominant fashion at the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA. The 2020 LPGA Player of the Year is currently No. 4 in the world. She ranked as high as No. 2 in 2020.
Jiyai Shin celebrates after winning the 2019 Evian Masters. Photo by Getty Images
One of the most prolific winners worldwide, Jiyai Shin won 11 times on the LPGA before leaving the tour to compete full-time in Japan. The two-time major winner has won 20-plus events on both the Japan LPGA and Korean LPGA and became the first Asian player to rise to No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings in 2010.
Jin Young Ko of Korea Republic kisses the winner’s trophy after the final round of the BMW Ladies Championship at LPGA International Busan on October 24, 2021 in Busan, South Korea. Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
Most recent victory at the BMW is projected to move Jin Young Ko to No. 1 in the world, a position she has previously held for 104 weeks. Ko won 10 times on the KLPGA before joining the LPGA in 2018. In 2019, she swept the tour’s major awards, winning Rolex Player of the Year, Rolex, Annika Major Award, Vare Trophy and money title. She also won two majors that year. Has now won four titles in her last seven starts.
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