Seon Woo Bae

Seon Woo Bae turned pro in late 2012 and played the minor league Dream Tour in Korea in 2013. She joined the KLPGA in 2014 and finished 28th on the money list with over 150 million won earned. Her best finish that season was second place at the Korea Women's Open.
2015 was Bae's breakthrough season on the KLPGA. She finished 6th on the tour money list, earning nearly 500 million won. She had several great tournaments but was not able to get her first win. She sure came close, though. She was 2nd at the Kyochon Chicken Ladies Open, another at the Bogner MBN Women's Open, and yet another second place at the Hanwha Classic. On top of that, she notched three 3rd place finishes and a total of 9 top tens.
2016 saw Seon Woo improve on her amazing form with her best year yet. After so many close calls in 2015, she finally broke into the winner's circle when she claimed the E1 Charity Open in late May. She followed that up with a second win at the KLPGA Championship, the year's second Major. In addition to the two wins, she also had 13 more top-tens. Bae finished with over 650 million won earned for the season, good for 5th on the money list.
Bae also played at the ING Championship, which pitted top KLPGA and LPGA stars in a team competition. She lost all four matches she played, however. She even lost 1 up to Eun Hee Ji despite scoring an ace during the round. Bae did better at the Kowa Queens team event the next week. She won one of her two-team matches, then squeaked out a tight singles match against Japanese star Ayaka Watanabe, the very player who had beaten Korea last year to clinch the trophy for Japan. This time, the Koreans dominated to win the trophy themselves. Bae also played the KEB Hana Bank, the LPGA's yearly event in Korea, and finished 7th.
In 2017, Bae had a chance to play more international events and did quite well in some of them. She played her first-ever Major, the US Women's Open, and finished T-19th. She had a better result at the LET's World Ladies Championship in China (co-sanctioned by the KLPGA). Bae was leading near the end, but Hae Rym Kim made a birdie on the final hole to tie her, then beat her in a playoff.
On the KLPGA, Bae finished 9th on the money list in 2017 with about 443 million won earned. She didn't win, but she did manage three runner-up results. At the end of the year, she also played in the Kowa Queens team event and the ING Champions on the KLPGA team. At the ING, Bae's team not only beat the favored LPGA squad, but Bae was named her team's MVP to boot. Among her achievements was beating top Korean star So Yeon Ryu in the singles 3 & 2.
in 2018 Bae had another strong season on the KLPGA. She earned over 884 million won, which placed her second on the money list. She had two wins, including the Hite Cup, a Major. She also notched five runner-up results and 12 total top tens. She also played a couple of LPGA events in 2018. She was T-8th at the KEB Hana Bank and a T-16th at the Founders Cup. At the end of the year, Bae attended JLPGA Q-School and earned a tour card.
In 2019, Seon Woo Bae mostly focused on the JLPGA Tour. She had a great season, finishing 4th on the money list with over 127 million yen earned. It took her a little while to earn her first win, but after losing in a playoff and collecting an additional two 2nd place finishes and two third places, she finally broke through with a win at the Meiji Cup in August. She also won the season's final event, the Ricoh Cup, which was also one of the tour's Majors. In all, she had 12 top tens, including four runner-up finishes and three-thirds. Despite her success, she did not win the Rookie of the Year award. That went to Hinako Shibuno, who had an unreal rookie season. Shibuno came from absolutely nowhere to finish 2nd on the money list; she also won the British Women's Open, the first Japanese player to win a Major since the Se Ri era had begun in 1998.
Bae also played one LPGA event, the Toto Classic, finishing T-18th, and four events on the KLPGA, where her best finish was a 23rd.
In 2020, the world was hit by the Covid19 pandemic. All sports leagues, including the LPGA and KLPGA, were massively affected by it; many events were canceled or shifted around the schedule, and fans were forbidden from attending. The JLPGA combined the 2020 and 2021 seasons into one year. In 2020, Bae played 9 events, with her best finish being 3rd; she had two other top tens.
Before she returned to Japan, she played in the Spring and Summer on the KLPGA tour. She competed in nine events, with her best result as a runner-up at the KLPGA Championship. She made 155 million won, placing her 29th on the year's money list. She also played in the US Women's Open in December, finishing T-52nd.
2020/21 Notes: Played in 39 Japan LPGA Tour events making 38 cuts with 16 top-tens, finishing five times runner-up (2020 Stanley Ladies Golf, Fujitsu Ladies Golf, T-Point*Eneos Golf, 2021 Stanley Ladies Golf, and Mitsubishi Electricc/Hisako Higuchi Ladies Golf). She was 16th on the Japan LPGA Tour money list with earnings of Yen96,089,299 (US$707,361).

Seon Woo Bae 2022 Japan LPGA Record

TOURNAMENT RANK Yen SCORE TOTAL 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
T-POINT*ENEOS GOLF Cut Yen0 +4 148 74 74
AXA LADIES GOLF TOURNAMENT 3T Yen4,875,000 -7 137 68 69
YAMAHA Ladies Katsuragi 3T Yen6,500,000 -6 282 67 69 73 73
Fujifilm Studio Ladies 32T Yen660,000 Even 216 69 74 73
KKTcup VANTELIN Open 14T Yen1,360,000 -2 214 70 70 74
Panasonic Open Ladies 9T Yen1,451,428 -4 212 71 72 69
-Salonpas Cup 23T Yen828,000 +2 290 70 73 75 72
Hoken no Madoguchi Ladies Cut Yen0 +2 146 74 72
RICHARD MILLE YONEX Cut Yen0 +4 148 71 77
Ai Miyazato Suntory WQ Yen0 +2 74 74
NICHIREI LADIES 23T Yen830,000 -5 211 68 72 71
Earth Mondahmin Cup 26T Yen1,785,000 +5 293 72 74 73 74
SHISEIDO Ladies Open 21T Yen888,000 -6 282 66 71 72 73
Nipponham LADIES CLASSIC 3 Yen7,000,000 -16 272 67 69 68 68
DAITO KENTAKU eheyanet 20T Yen996,000 -8 280 70 72 70 68

Seon Woo Bae is 22nd on the money list with Yen27,173,428 (US$200,037)