Jin Hee Im

Jin Hee Im started playing golf in high school, which is very late for a player who ended up playing professional golf.
She has competed on the KLPGA since 2018, making 107 cuts in 133 starts with 29 top-10 finishes and six wins. Four of those wins came in 2023, with her most recent victory at the SK Telecom Championship. In those 133 starts, she earned 2,189,439,948 won (USA$1,603,282).
She turned pro in 2016 and played in the minor leagues for two years, qualifying for the KLPGA in 2018. For the next few years, Im toiled in relative obscurity. She only finished 64th on the money list in her rookie season and 84th in 2019. In 2020, she played just three events.
But in 2021, she finally turned things around and started her ascent to the top of the Korean LPGA. She played in 27 Korean events and made the cut in 21 starts. She had six top tens and finished 22nd on the money list, making 312 million won (USA$228,397). She collected her first win at the BC Card Hankyung Ladies Cup, which secured her a card.
2022 Notes: It was an even better year for Im. She made 28 Korean Tour starts, making 24 cuts. She had 8 top tens and another win, this time at the McCol Mona Park Open, where she held off hard-charging rookie Ina Yoon. She also had a runner-up finish and a third. She made 538 million won (USA$393,805), good for 14th on the money list.
2023 Notes: Her momentum exploded in 2023, and she went from a talented player to one of Korea's best women's players. She became one of the few in tour history to break a billion won in a season, collecting 1.145 billion won (USA$838,785) and finishing second on the money list. She was also second in the Player of the Year race and third in scoring average. Most impressively, she grabbed four wins during the year (NH Investment & Securities Championship, Jeju Sarndasoo Masters, Sangsangin-Hankyung TV Open, SK Shieldus - SK Telecom Championship), the most of anyone on tour. She had 13 total top tens, tying for the most in the league. Her world ranking moved up to 40th by the end of the year. She decided the time was right to take a crack at the LPGA, and she had made just two starts on the LPGA Tour, finishing T61st at the 2021 BMW Ladies Championship and T-20th at the 2020 ISPS Handa Vic Open. So, she entered the LPGA Q-Series in the fall. She struggled but hung tough and finished T-17th, earning one of the final full cards for the 2024 season.
2024 Notes: Played in 24 LPGA Tour events, making 21 cuts with six top-ten finishes. She was 18th on the money list with $1,377,818 in earnings and was 31st in CME Points. She got her first top-ten finish at the Chevron Championship, finishing 8th in her rookie year. The next week, at the JM Eagle LA Championship, she shot a third-round 63, but she stumbled on Sunday, shooting 72 to finish T-4th, seven shots back of the winner, Hannah Green. Was T-10th at the AIG Women's Open. T-9th at the Kroger Queen City Championship and T-8th at the BMW Ladies Championship. Was T-2nd at the Annika Driven by Gainbridge, three shots back of the winner, Nelly Korda. It was her first runner-up finish. Im finished second in the Rookie of the Year race to Mao Saigo.
2025 Notes: Started the season with a pair of T-4th finishes at the Founders Cup and HSBC Women's Championship. Was T-5th at the ShipRIte Classic, five shots back of the winner, Jennifer Kupcho. Im teamed with Somi Lee to win the Dow Championship team event, beating Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang on the first playoff hole. They won when Lee made her team?s 8-foot birdie putt for the win on the first extra hole, while Khang missed her team?s 5-foot birdie putt.