Yani Tseng
Tseng with the 2011 Women's British Open trophy
Personal information
Full nameYani Tseng
Born (1989-01-23) 23 January 1989 (age 35)
Guishan Township, Taoyuan County (now Guishan District, Taoyuan City), Taiwan
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Sporting nationality Republic of China (Taiwan)
ResidenceOrlando, Florida, U.S.
Career
Turned professional2007
Current tour(s)LPGA Tour
(joined 2008)
Former tour(s)Ladies Asian Golf Tour
(joined 2007)
Professional wins27
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour15
Ladies European Tour6
Ladies Asian Golf Tour3
ALPG Tour3
Other5
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 5)
Chevron ChampionshipWon: 2010
Women's PGA C'shipWon: 2008, 2011
U.S. Women's OpenT10: 2010
Women's British OpenWon: 2010, 2011
Evian ChampionshipT36: 2016
Achievements and awards
LPGA Tour
Rookie of the Year		2008
LPGA Tour
Player of the Year		2010, 2011
LPGA Vare Trophy2011
LPGA Tour
Money Winner		2011
GWAA
Female Player of the Year		2010,[1] 2011[2]
Medal record
Representing  Chinese Taipei
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha Women's team
Yani Tseng
Chinese曾雅妮

Yani Tseng (Chinese: 曾雅妮; pinyin: Zēng Yǎní; born 23 January 1989) is a Taiwanese professional golfer playing on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She is the youngest player ever, male or female, to win five major championships[3] and was ranked number 1 in the Women's World Golf Rankings for 109 consecutive weeks from 2011 to 2013.[4]

Amateur career

Tseng was the top-ranked amateur in Taiwan from 2004 to 2006. The highlight of her amateur career was winning the 2004 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, defeating Michelle Wie in the final, 1 up.[5] Her amateur accomplishments include:

Professional career

2007

Tseng turned professional in January 2007. That year she competed on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and won the DLF Women's Indian Open. She also competed on the CN Canadian Women's Tour where she won the CN Canadian Women's Tour at Vancouver Golf Club.

2008

Tseng entered the LPGA Qualifying Tournament in the fall of 2007 and finished sixth in the final Qualifying Tournament in December which gave Tseng full playing privileges on the LPGA Tour for 2008.[6] In June 2008, she claimed her first LPGA tour victory at the LPGA Championship to become the first player from Taiwan to win an LPGA major championship. At age 19, she was also the youngest player to win the LPGA Championship and the second-youngest player to win an LPGA major.[7]

Tseng was named LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2008.[8]

2009

On 29 March 2009, Tseng became the fastest player in LPGA history to reach the $2 million mark in career earnings. She achieved this mark in 32 events, spanning one year, one month, and 13 days. The previous record holder was Paula Creamer who reached the mark in one year, four months, and 15 days in 2006.[9]

2010

2009 Women's British Open – Yani Tseng displaying her swing.

On 4 April 2010, Tseng won the first major championship of the LPGA season, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, by one stroke. She went on to win her second major of the year on 1 August 2010 by winning the Women's British Open by one stroke and became the youngest woman in the modern era to win three major championships. LPGA founder Patty Berg was younger than Tseng when she won the 1939 Titleholders Championship.[10] However, that was before the formation of the LPGA Tour in 1950 and the designation of official LPGA major tournaments.

In September 2010, Tseng was offered a five-year sponsorship deal from a Chinese company worth NT$1 billion (US$25 million) with access to a luxury villa and private jets. Tseng rejected the offer because it required she switch her citizenship from Republic of China to China.[11][12]

2011

In January 2011, Tseng defended her title at the Taifong Ladies Open on the LPGA of Taiwan Tour. Three weeks later she won the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open and a week later the ANZ RACV Ladies Masters, both events co-sponsored by the ALPG Tour and the Ladies European Tour. Her wins moved her into the number 1 position in the Women's World Golf Rankings. She won again the next week in the first tournament of the LPGA season, the Honda LPGA Thailand.[13]

In June 2011, she won the LPGA State Farm Classic over Cristie Kerr by three strokes. Two weeks later, she won the LPGA Championship. This made her the youngest player to win four LPGA majors.[14] The next month she defended her title at the Women's British Open, becoming the first defending champion winner at the Women's British Open as a major. Her five major titles also made her the youngest player, male or female, to win five major championships.[15][16][17]

Tseng won the LPGA Tour Player of the Year for a second straight year.[18] She wrapped up the award while the season still had four events remaining.

2012

Tseng won three of the first five events on the 2012 LPGA Tour: the Honda LPGA Thailand, the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup and the Kia Classic. The Honda LPGA Thailand victory was her second consecutive win at that event.

Mid-2012 career downturn

Tseng's career took a sudden downturn beginning in the latter part of the 2012 season. At the end of 2013, she had dropped from fourth to 38th place on the official LPGA money list and from first to 34th in the Women's World Golf Rankings. Her performance dropped further in 2014; she ended that year at 54th on the official money list and ranked 83rd in the world. Tseng has not won a LPGA tournament since March 2012 (Kia Classic). After accumulating seven top-10 finishes, including four wins, in majors in 2010 through early 2012, starting with the 2012 Women's PGA Championship, she has missed the cut or did not play in a majority of the majors and finished no higher than T13 in the others. There have been no reports of major injuries or other explanation for the sudden change.

Hall of Fame

Since March 2012, Tseng has been four points away from qualifying for the World Golf Hall of Fame via the LPGA points system, which requires 27 points for Hall of Fame eligibility.[19] Tseng earned one point for each regular tour victory on the LPGA Tour and two points for every major championship victory.[19] She also earned a point each for her two Rolex LPGA Player of the Year awards and one point for winning the Vare Trophy.[19] If she accumulates the required 27 points before her tenth season on the LPGA Tour, she will have to wait until the tenth year to gain full Hall of Fame eligibility.[19] Tseng has already met the requirement to win one LPGA major, Vare Trophy, or Rolex award.[19]

Personal life

Tseng's father is Mao Hsin Tseng and her mother is Yu-Yun Yang.[20]

Tseng lives in a residential community at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida, in a house that she purchased from former LPGA player Annika Sörenstam in April 2009.[21]

Tseng was named on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012."[22]

Professional wins (27)

LPGA Tour wins (15)

Legend
Major championships (5)
Other LPGA Tour (10)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
1 8 Jun 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship 73-70-65-68=276 −12 Playoff Sweden Maria Hjorth 300,000
2 24 May 2009 LPGA Corning Classic 68-70-62-67=267 −21 1 stroke United States Paula Creamer
South Korea Kang Soo-yun 		225,000
3 4 Apr 2010 Kraft Nabisco Championship 69-71-67-68=275 −13 1 stroke Norway Suzann Pettersen 300,000
4 1 Aug 2010 Ricoh Women's British Open 68-68-68-73=277 −11 1 stroke Australia Katherine Hull 408,714
5 12 Sep 2010 P&G NW Arkansas Championship 67-68-65=200 −13 1 stroke United States Michelle Wie 300,000
6 20 Feb 2011 Honda LPGA Thailand 66-71-70-66=273 −15 5 strokes United States Michelle Wie 217,500
7 12 Jun 2011 LPGA State Farm Classic 67-66-66-68=267 −21 3 strokes United States Cristie Kerr 255,000
8 26 Jun 2011 Wegmans LPGA Championship 66-70-67-66=269 −19 10 strokes United States Morgan Pressel 375,000
9 31 Jul 2011 Ricoh Women's British Open 71-66-66-69=272 −16 4 strokes United States Brittany Lang 392,133
10 11 Sep 2011 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship 66-67-68=201 −13 Playoff South Korea Amy Yang 300,000
11 9 Oct 2011 LPGA Hana Bank Championship 65-70-67=202 −14 1 stroke South Korea Choi Na-Yeon 270,000
12 23 Oct 2011 Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship 68-71-67-66=272 −16 5 strokes Spain Azahara Muñoz
South Korea Amy Yang 		300,000
13 19 Feb 2012 Honda LPGA Thailand 73-65-65-66=269 −19 1 stroke Japan Ai Miyazato 225,000
14 18 Mar 2012 RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup 65-70-67-68=270 −18 1 stroke South Korea Choi Na-Yeon
Japan Ai Miyazato 		225,000
15 25 Mar 2012 Kia Classic 67-68-69-70=274 −14 6 strokes South Korea Sun-Young Yoo 255,000

LPGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship SwedenMaria Hjorth Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
2 2008 State Farm Classic South Korea Ji-Young Oh Lost to par on first extra hole
3 2011 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship South Korea Amy Yang Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (12)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 3 Mar 2007 DLF Women's Indian Open (LAGT)[23] 70-70-75=215 −1 Playoff Thailand Russy Gulyanamitta
2 11 Apr 2007 TLPGA Tour Nan-Fong Tournament at Nan-Fong Golf Club
(Taiwan LPGA Tour) 		72-68=140 −4 Playoff Taiwan Yueh-Chyn Huang
3 29 May 2007 CN Canadian Women's Tour at Vancouver Golf Club
(CN Canadian Women's Tour) 		68-72=140 −4 2 strokes Canada Stephanie Sherlock
4 12 Jan 2008 Royal Ladies Open (The LPGA of Taiwan)[24] 66-64-66=196 −20 17 strokes South Korea Lee Eun-Kyoung
Thailand Pornanong Phatlum
5 17 Jan 2010 Taifong Ladies Open (The LPGA of Taiwan)[25] 69-73-77=219 +3 4 strokes Taiwan Wei Yun Jye
6 12 Mar 2010 Handa Women's Australian Open (ALPG Tour, LET) 74-71-72-66=283 −9 3 strokes England Laura Davies
7 16 Jan 2011 Taifong Ladies Open (LAGT, The LPGA of Taiwan)[26] 77-73-68=218 +2 3 strokes South Korea Nam Min-ji
8 6 Feb 2011 ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open (ALPG, LET) 70-67-68-71=276 −16 7 strokes South Korea Eun-Hee Ji
England Melissa Reid
South Korea Jiyai Shin
9 13 Feb 2011 ANZ RACV Ladies Masters (ALPG, LET) 67-66-63-68=264 −24 4 strokes Australia Nikki Campbell
United States Stacy Lewis
10 30 Oct 2011 Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open (LAGT, LET) 68-66-66=200 −16 7 strokes Sweden Pernilla Lindberg
11 11 Dec 2011 Swinging Skirts TLPGA Invitational (The LPGA of Taiwan) 72-70-68=210 −6 7 strokes South Korea Ryu So-Yeon
South Korea Jiyai Shin
12 26 Jan 2014 Taifong Ladies Open (The LPGA of Taiwan)[27] 73-72-70=215 −1 2 strokes Taiwan Yen Ling Pan

Major championships

Wins (5)

No. Year Championship Winning score To par Margin
of victory		 Runner-up Winner's
share ($)
1 2008 LPGA Championship 73-70-65-68=276 −12 Playoff 1 Sweden Maria Hjorth 300,000
2 2010 Kraft Nabisco Championship 69-71-67-68=275 −13 1 stroke Norway Suzann Pettersen 300,000
3 2010 Women's British Open 68-68-68-73=277 −11 1 stroke Australia Katherine Hull 408,714
4 2011 LPGA Championship (2) 66-70-67-66=269 −19 10 strokes United States Morgan Pressel 375,000
5 2011 Women's British Open (2) 71-66-66-69=272 −16 4 strokes United States Brittany Lang 392,133

1 Defeated Hjorth with birdie on fourth extra hole.

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2019.

Tournament 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
ANA Inspiration T21 T17 1 2 3 T48 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Women's Open CUT CUT T42 CUT T10 T15 T50 CUT T35 CUT T59
Women's PGA Championship 1 T23 T19 1 T59 T19 T30 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
The Evian Championship ^ CUT CUT CUT T36 CUT NT
Women's British Open 2 T20 1 1 T26 CUT CUT T13 T31 T30 CUT

^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
T = tied

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
ANA Inspiration 1 1 1 3 3 5 13 6
U.S. Women's Open 0 0 0 0 1 2 11 6
Women's PGA Championship 2 0 0 2 2 5 12 7
The Evian Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Women's British Open 2 1 0 3 3 5 11 8
Totals 5 2 1 8 9 17 52 28

LPGA Tour career summary

Year Tournaments
played		 Cuts
made*		 Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish		 Earnings
($)		 Money
list rank		 Scoring
average		 Scoring
rank
2004 1 1 0 0 0 0 T33 n/a 71.50
2005 1 0 0 0 0 0 MC n/a 77.00
2006 1 0 0 0 0 0 MC n/a 76.00
2007 1 1 0 0 0 1 T6 64,909 n/a 69.00 n/a
2008 28 27 1 5 2 10 1 1,752,086 3 70.77 4
2009 27 26 1 3 0 14 1 1,293,755 7 70.44 5
2010 20 19 3 1 2 8 1 1,573,529 4 70.66 8
2011 22 21 7 2 1 14 1 2,921,713 1 69.66 1
2012 24 21 3 0 3 11 1 1,430,159 4 71.12 15
2013 23 17 0 1 1 4 2 405,068 38 71.71 35
2014 24 18 0 1 0 2 T2 303,127 54 72.19 65
2015 27 18 0 3 0 4 T2 648,400 21 71.52 36
2016 25 13 0 0 0 0 T16 70,910 109 73.22 131
2017 25 10 0 0 0 0 T11 107,504 99 72.68 138
2018 20 7 0 0 0 0 T27 45,137 135 72.19 95
Totals 266 196 15 16 9 68 1 10,551,388 13

* Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

Year World
ranking		 Source
2006 unranked [29]
2007 134 [30]
2008 2 [31]
2009 5 [32]
2010 5 [33]
2011 1 [34]
2012 1 [35]
2013 34 [36]
2014 83 [37]
2015 38 [38]
2016 102 [39]
2017 217 [40]
2018 328 [41]
2019 666 [42]
2020 899 [43]
2021 unranked [44]

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. ^ Harig, Bob (17 December 2010). "Graeme McDowell leads GWAA awards". ESPN. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  2. ^ "Tseng named GWAA Female Player of the Year". LPGA. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  3. ^ Elliot, Mick (26 March 2012). "Players to watch at LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship". ESPN. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Stacy Lewis wins, now No. 1 in world". ESPN. Associated Press. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  5. ^ "Yani Tseng, LPGA Tour Biography" (PDF). LPGA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  6. ^ "Park tops 17 LPGA Tour qualifiers at Q-school". USA Today. Associated Press. 2 December 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  7. ^ "LPGA 19歲曾雅妮封后". The Taipei Times (Press release) (in Chinese). 10 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  8. ^ "Ochoa named LPGA Player of the Year". Reuters. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  9. ^ "Tseng Fastest to $2 million". LPGA. 29 March 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  10. ^ "3 Is a Magic Number for Yani Tseng". About.com. 1 August 2010. Archived from the original on 10 January 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  11. ^ "Yani Tseng refused offer to become Chinese citizen". The China Post. 19 September 2010.
  12. ^ Strege, John (18 September 2010). "Report: Tseng rejects $25 million Chinese offer". golfdigest.com.
  13. ^ "Yani Tseng claims 5-shot Thailand win". ESPN. Associated Press. 20 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  14. ^ "Tseng Wins L.P.G.A. Championship in a Runaway". The New York Times. Associated Press. 26 June 2011.
  15. ^ Lewine, Mair (11 July 2011). "Yani Tseng makes history with fifth major win". ESPNW. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  16. ^ Myers, Alex (31 July 2011). "Tseng continues her assault on the record books". Golf Digest. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  17. ^ "Tseng wins fifth women's major". lfpress.com. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  18. ^ "Commissioner Whan Congratulates Tseng at Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship". LPGA. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  19. ^ a b c d e "Criteria for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame". LPGA Tour. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  20. ^ Baldry, Beth Ann (15 December 2010). "Tseng offers emotional PoY acceptance speech". Golfweek. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  21. ^ Yoon, Peter (4 April 2010). "Yani Tseng gets major LPGA win at Mission Hills". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  22. ^ "The 100 Most Influential People in the World: Yani Tseng". Time. 18 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  23. ^ "Ya Ni takes Indian title in play-off". The Nation. 17 March 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2010.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ "Yani Tseng Rookie Blog One". LPGA. 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  25. ^ "Taifong Ladies Open 2010 Results". Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  26. ^ "Yani Tseng wins Taifong Ladies Open Golf". Focus Taiwan. Archived from the original on 3 February 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  27. ^ "2014 Taiwan LPGA Tour TAIFONG Ladies Open 24–26 Jan First Round Recap". TLPGA. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  28. ^ "Yani Tseng Stats". LPGA. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  29. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2006.
  30. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2007.
  31. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2008.
  32. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2009.
  33. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2010.
  34. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2011.
  35. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2012.
  36. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2013.
  37. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2014.
  38. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2015.
  39. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2016.
  40. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2017.
  41. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2018.
  42. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2019.
  43. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2020.
  44. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yani Tseng.
The Chevron Championship winners (major era only)
Women's PGA Championship champions
Women's British Open champions (major era only)
World number one women's golfers since 2006
Categories