Sports

Sunday November 8, 2009

Rich vein of form


In the space of four tournaments between the middle of October and the beginning of November, Choi Na-yeon won twice on the LPGA Tour to really shake up the run-in to the end of the season.

Now, with four events yet to be decided before the curtain comes down on the 2009 season, Choi has moved up to fifth on the LPGA Money List and 11th in the women’s world rankings.

Its being a rewarding second-half of the campaign, with the Samsung World Championship and the Hana Bank-KOLON Championship victories being the highlights. More importantly, the 22-year-old Seoul-born Korean, who turned pro in 2004, is at last beginning to demonstrate the sort of form that she showed in her amateur career and shortly after switching to the paid ranks.

Indeed, as a 17-year-old amateur she won the 2004 ADT-CAPS Invitational on the Korea LPGA Tour by four strokes, holding off the challenge of compatriot Se Ri Pak.

Shortly thereafter, Choi moved to the professional circuit and duly finished with five titles on the Korean LPGA Tour. She earned her Tour card for this season on the back of finishing 11th on the LPGA 2008 Money List; and that as a non-exempt member. She had nine top-10s in 27 tournaments last year.

This season she has two wins - the Samsung World Championship and the Hana Bank-KOLON Championship. In all, she has 10 top-10 finishes and US$1.22mil to show for it. And, she is not yet done!

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