In Gee Chun

She is known as "Dumbo" in Korea, and she has a fan club called the Flying Dumbos. Started playing golf in fourth grade when her father introduced her to the game. Owns seven KLPGA wins and one JLPGA win. One of her KLPGA victories was a major, the 2013 Korea Women's Open. Her JLPGA win was the 2015 World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup. She was first on the KLPGA Money List. Finished 4th on the money list in 2014 after placing 3rd in 2013. In 2014, voted "Most Popular Player" by fans and "Most Influential Player" by the media. Her coach, Won Park, nicknamed her Dumbo because once she believes in something, she makes a full commitment without any second thought, although she is a woman with a lot of curiosity in every aspect of her game and life.
Chun's most memorable moment of 2014 came at the KEB Hana Bank Championship, an LPGA co-sanction event. After a disappointing first round, she climbed the leaderboard the next two days, then seized the lead on the back nine on Sunday. She had a putt to win but missed, winding up in a playoff with Q Baek and Brittany Lincicome. Alas, Chun hit an iron in the water during the playoff, and Baek won. But her T-2nd showed she was ready to contend at the LPGA level. Her finish on the KLPGA money list should give her a few chances to play in some LPGA tour major championships in 2015.
2015 Notes: She won eight times worldwide in 2015, including the U.S. Women's Open and the Japan Women's Open, and five times on the Korean LPGA Tour. Both her wins in Japan were majors on the JLPHA (Japan Women's Open and the Salonpas Cup), and she won two majors on the Korean LPGA Tour as well (the Hite Jinro Championship and the KB Financial Star Championship). She also won the Korean LPGA money title. At the U.S. Women's Open, she came from four shots back with a final-round 66 to beat Amy Yang by one stroke. She birdied three of her first seven holes Sunday to pull within one of the lead before bogeys on holes 8 and 10 dropped her three back of Yang. She made birdies on holes 15 through 17 to go ahead by three. Her 272 total tied the U.S. Women's Open scoring record, and she was the third-youngest winner of the Open (20 years, 11 months), behind Inbee Park and Se Ri Pak. It was her first USGA event and her eighth LPGA start. She won the Japan Women's Open in a three-way playoff over Mi Hyang Lee and Erika Kikuchi after they had tied at 2-under 286. Earlier in the year, she won the Japan LPGA's World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup in May. Chun led by five entering the final round and shot 73 Sunday to beat Momoko Ueda by four strokes.
2016 Notes: She got off to a hot start finishing either 2nd or 3rd in her first four starts. Was T-3rd at the COATES Golf Championship, 2nd at the Honda LPGA Thailand, T-2nd at the ANA Inspiration, and T-2nd at the LOTTE Championship. She had a problem in March, just after the Honda LPGA Thailand, when she was injured in an accident at Singapore's Changi Airport. Chang Ho Jang, the father of fellow South Korean player Ha Na Jang, lost control of a carry-on bag on an escalator, striking Chun in the back and injuring muscles around her tailbone. This forced Chun to withdraw from the HSBC Women's, and by coincidence, Jang won the event. Not only did Chun not play in Singapore, but she also missed the Founders Cup and the Kia Classic before returning at the ANA Inspiration and finished 2nd, one shot back of winner Lydia Ko. She had her third runner-up finish in four starts at the Lotte Championship, finishing one shot back of winner Minjee Lee. She was third at the Meijer Classic, two shots out of the playoff won by Sei Young Kim. She was T-13th at the Rio Olympics as a member of South Korea's women's golf team. She won the Evian Championship in record fashion, shooting 21 - under 263 to beat So Yeon Ryu and Sung Hyun Park by four shots. Chun's 21-under score is the lowest mark in a men's or women's major championship, bettering the record of 20-under set by Jason Day in the 2015 PGA Championship and tied by Henrik Stenson in the 2016 Open Championship. Five players had previously shot 19-under in a women's major. Chun's 263 also broke the LPGA major championship 72-hole scoring record previously set by Betsy King (267, 1992 Women's PGA Championship). She joined Se Ri Pak as the only player whose first two LPGA victories were majors. For the year, Chun played a total of 19 LPGA events, making 18 cuts and finishing with 11 top-10s. She was 4th on the money list with $1,501,102 and 9th in CME Points and won the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year award and the Vare Trophy.
2017 Notes: Played in 23 LPGA events making 21 cuts with 10 top-10 finishes. She went over the million-dollar mark as she finished 11th on the money list with earnings of $1,250,259. She had 5 runner-up finishes at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup, LPGA Lotte Championship, Kingsmill Championship, and Manulife Financial LPGA Classic, where she lost a playoff to Ariya Jutanugarn. Also finished runner-up at the Cambia Portland Classic, a shot back of winner Stacy Lewis. She also was 3rd at the Canadian Pacific Women's Open and LPGA Keb HanaBank Championship.
2018 Notes: Played in 20 LPGA events making 19 cuts and four top-ten finishes. She was runner-up at the Kingsmill Championship, she was in the playoff that Ariya Jutanugarn won, but Chun was eliminated on the first playoff hole. Also finished T-5th at the Bank of America Founders Cup. In February, was given the honor of carrying the Olympic torch into the stadium during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Korea. She was named to the South Korean team in the UL.
International Crown as a replacement for Inbee Park. Chun was 4-0-0 in the matches as Korea won the title. Chun won for the first time on the LPGA in two years at the KEB Hana Bank Championship in her home country of South Korea, shooting 16-under 272 to beat Charley Hull by 3 shots. She earned $741,691 and was 26th on the money list. Was 21st in the Race to CME.
2019 Notes: Played in 23 LPGA events making 18 cuts with two top-ten finishes. She was 67th on the money list earning $270,213. She was 62nd on the CME points list. Best finish T-4th at the BMW Ladies Championship, T-6th at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational with partner Lydia Ko.
2020 Notes: Played in 15 LPGA events making 13 cuts with two top-ten finishes. She was 37th on the money list with earnings of $301,686. Finished 24th on the CME points list Best finish T-7th at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open and AIG Women's Open. With that finish in Scotland crossed the $4 million mark in official career earnings. Because of the break for COVID-19, Chun was able to return home to Korea and regain her passion for playing golf again.
2021 Notes: Played in 23 LPGA Tour events making 19 cuts with eight top-ten finishes. She was 25th in on the CME points list and 25th on the money list with $754,538 in earnings. Started the season 4th at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, then T-8th at the Gainbridge LPGA, and 4th at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Golden Ocala. Shot a final round of 63 at the Meijer LPGA Classic, finishing four shots back of winner Nelly Korda. She was T-6th at the Amundi Evian Championship, five shots back of winner Minjee Lee. Was T-7th at the BMW Ladies Championship and finished the season T-9th at the CME Group Tour Championship.
2022 Notes: Played in 19 LPGA Tour events making 18 cuts with three top-ten finishes. She was 9th in the CME rankings and 3rd on the money list with earnings of $2,673,860. She was T-2nd at the HSBC Women's Championship, two shots back of winner Jin Young Ko. Was a wire-to-wire winner of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, a shot ahead of Minjee Lee and Lexi Thompson. She was 2nd in the AIG Women?s Open, losing on the fourth hole of a playoff to Ashleigh Buhai at Muirfield. Her final start of the season was T-33rd at the CME Group Tour Championship.
2023 Notes: Best finish was T-19th at the Chevron Championship. In the second round had a hole-in-one on the 17th hole, which allowed her a $1 million donation to the LPGA Foundation and Girls Golf of Greater Houston. She was a member of South Korea?s team at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown and was 1-2 in the matches.