Amy Yang Bio
Yang Hee-Young, known in the international game as Amy Yang, is a South Korean professional golfer who competes on the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour (LET). Born on 28 July 1989, she first came to worldwide attention as a teenager when she became the youngest winner in LET history. More than a decade later, she captured her first major championship at the 2024 Women’s PGA Championship, cementing her place among the tour’s most consistent competitors.
Standing 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) and now based in Orlando, Florida, Yang has combined longevity with steady excellence, winning tournaments across three professional tours and posting top finishes in nearly every major on the women’s calendar. Her career reflects a balance of early promise and late-career breakthrough.
Early Life and Background
Amy Yang was born in Ilsan, Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, the daughter of Joon Mo (James) and Sun Hee (Sunny). She grew up in a supportive household that encouraged her athletic interests from an early age. Like many South Korean golfers of her generation, she was introduced to the sport through local programs and developed her game on the country’s busy practice and range circuit.
At the age of 10, Yang began playing golf in South Korea and quickly showed unusual aptitude for the game. When she was 15, her family relocated to the Gold Coast of Australia so she could pursue golf more seriously, training in a region known for its year-round playing conditions and competitive junior calendar. The move also allowed her to compete against stronger amateur fields and to prepare for an international professional career.
Path to Professional Golf
Yang’s amateur career produced several defining moments before she ever turned professional. In 2005, she won the Queensland Amateur Championship, becoming the youngest winner of that event. The victory established her as one of the most promising teenage amateurs in the region and set the stage for an even more remarkable achievement the following year.
In 2006, while still an amateur, Yang won the ANZ Ladies Masters on the Ladies European Tour at age 16 years and 192 days, making her the youngest winner in LET history at that time. Her victory attracted immediate attention from the global women’s golf community. The LET responded by offering her a special three-year membership exemption beginning in 2006, conditional on her traveling with her parents until she turned 18.
Amy Yang Career
Early Career (2006–2007)
While finishing high school, Yang balanced amateur commitments with her LET exemption and recorded four top-20 finishes during 2007. The experience gave her valuable competitive seasoning against veteran professionals and confirmed that her game could translate across tours and continents.
In the fall of 2007, she attended LPGA Tour qualifying school and earned conditional status on the LPGA Tour for 2008. That same year, her family relocated from Australia to Orlando, Florida, establishing the home base she has maintained throughout her professional career.
LPGA Tour Breakthrough (2008–2014)
Yang’s transition to the LPGA Tour began in earnest in June 2008, when she claimed her second LET title with a four-shot victory at the Ladies German Open. After winning, she announced that she was donating her entire prize of $61,260 to victims of a recent earthquake in China, drawing widespread praise for the gesture.
Later that December, she returned to LPGA qualifying school and earned full playing status for 2009 by finishing second in the five-round event. Her first LPGA Tour victory came on 20 October 2013, when she captured the LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship, birdieing the first sudden-death playoff hole to defeat Hee-Kyung Seo.
Honda LPGA Thailand and Major Contention (2015–2023)
On 1 March 2015, Yang won her second LPGA Tour title at the Honda LPGA Thailand, an event she would go on to win again in 2017 and 2019, demonstrating her affinity for the course and her consistency in Asia. Across this period, she also posted strong major championship results, including a runner-up finish at the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open, a T4 at the 2011 Women’s British Open, a T4 at the 2012 Chevron Championship, and another T4 at the 2023 Chevron Championship.
In 2023, her steady season-long play was rewarded when she won the Race to the CME Globe, the season-long points competition on the LPGA Tour. The honor recognized her consistency across the schedule and positioned her among the tour’s leading players heading into the next season.
Major Championship Triumph (2024)
On 24 June 2024, Yang won her first major title at the Women’s PGA Championship, capturing the trophy in her 75th major start. The victory came after years of close calls, including multiple top finishes in major championships across more than a decade on tour.
The major breakthrough completed a long-anticipated arc in her career and was widely celebrated as a reward for her persistence, professionalism, and steady ball-striking under pressure.
Notable Events and Milestones
Yang’s career includes signature milestones such as becoming the youngest winner in LET history in 2006, donating her 2008 Ladies German Open prize to earthquake relief, earning her first LPGA Tour win in 2013, three titles at the Honda LPGA Thailand (2015, 2017, 2019), the 2023 Race to the CME Globe, and her first major at the 2024 Women’s PGA Championship.
Amy Yang Career Wins
Across the LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour, and LPGA of Korea Tour, Amy Yang has compiled 9 professional wins, a total that reflects steady, multi-tour success over nearly two decades. Her victories are split across the LPGA Tour (6), the Ladies European Tour (3), and the LPGA of Korea Tour (2), with an additional major championship title added in 2024. The wins span Asia, Europe, and the United States, underscoring her global competitive footprint.
LPGA Tour Highlights
Yang has won six events on the LPGA Tour, beginning with the 2013 LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship. Her second title came at the 2015 Honda LPGA Thailand, an event she won again in 2017 and 2019. Her 2024 Women’s PGA Championship victory marked her first major and her most recent LPGA Tour win at the time of writing, completing a career-long pursuit of major silverware.
Ladies European Tour Highlights
On the Ladies European Tour, Yang’s breakthrough came with the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters, a win that made her the youngest LET champion in history. Her second LET title followed in 2008 at the Ladies German Open, where her victory was paired with a notable charitable gesture.
Amy Yang Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Amy Yang was raised in South Korea by her father, Joon Mo (James), and her mother, Sun Hee (Sunny). The family supported her early interest in golf and made significant sacrifices to advance her career, including relocating first to Australia and later to the United States. Her parents also traveled with her on the Ladies European Tour during the early years of her professional exemption.
Personal Life
In the fall of 2007, Yang’s family moved from Australia to Orlando, Florida, where she has resided throughout her professional career. She continues to make Orlando her home base while competing on the LPGA Tour and around the world.
2025 Season Performance
Heading into the 2025 LPGA Tour season, Amy Yang competes as a major champion following her breakthrough at the 2024 Women’s PGA Championship. The victory reshaped her schedule and confidence, and she enters the new season with the opportunity to build on one of the most significant wins of her career.
Her game remains built on accurate ball-striking and steady play, qualities that have produced consistent results across more than 75 major starts and dozens of LPGA events. With a full schedule of LPGA Tour events and major championships ahead, Yang will look to add to her six LPGA Tour wins and contend for additional major titles.
As a multiple-time winner of the Honda LPGA Thailand and the reigning Women’s PGA Championship holder, Yang arrives at 2025 with momentum and the credibility that comes from winning at the highest level of the women’s game.