Na Yeon Choi

Na Yeon Choi is a South Korean professional golfer who won the 2012 U.S. Women's Open, a breakthrough major title that came eight years into her professional career.

Na Yeon Choi's four-stroke victory at the 2012 U.S. Women's Open at Blackwolf Run — capped by a third-round 65 that put the field away — made her the latest in a line of South Korean women to win golf's most demanding major, following the tradition that Se Ri Pak had begun fourteen years earlier. At just 17, she won the ADT CAPS Invitational on the LPGA of Korea Tour, beating South Korean golf pioneer Se Ri Pak by four strokes, and turned professional shortly after in November 2004, going on to win at least once each year on the Korean tour through 2007. Choi graduated to the U.S.-based LPGA Tour in 2008, finishing 11th on the money list as a 21-year-old rookie, and built a decade of consistency at the highest level, winning the LPGA money title and Vare Trophy for the tour's lowest scoring average in 2010. She reached the top 10 in every major championship during her career but had yet to break through with a major title. That changed emphatically at the 2012 U.S. Women's Open at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin, where a third-round 65 propelled Choi to a four-stroke victory over compatriot Amy Yang. On the 18th green, she bowed to Se Ri Pak — the golfer whose 1998 U.S. Women's Open win had inspired an entire generation of South Korean players, including Choi herself — in a moment widely celebrated for connecting the sport's past and present in South Korean golf. Choi went on to win nine LPGA Tour titles in total across a career that ran until 2022.

Consistent, all-around player renowned for a low scoring average and mental composure under pressure

A key figure in the generation of South Korean golfers who built on Se Ri Pak's pioneering success

• U.S. Women's Open champion (2012)
• 9x LPGA Tour winner
• LPGA Tour money winner and Vare Trophy (2010)
• As a teenager, beat Se Ri Pak to win her first professional title