Three Korean Golfers Rank in LPGA Top 10 for Driving Distance

Three South Korean players currently rank among the top 10 in driving distance on the LPGA Tour after three tournaments this season, though no full-field event has yet been held.

Kim A-rim ranks fourth at 272.86 yards, Yoon I-na sixth at 271.19 yards, and Yoo Hae-ran ninth at 269.86 yards. Kim Se-young follows at 16th with 267.00 yards, while Hwang Yu-min sits at 28th with 262.29 yards.

The top five, excluding Kim A-rim, includes Austin Kim of the United States in first place at 285.44 yards, Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain second at 283.63 yards, Brooke Matthews of the United States third at 280.56 yards, and Nelly Korda of the United States fifth at 272.17 yards.

Four players who topped the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour driving distance rankings have challenged the LPGA Tour. Kim Se-young led in 2013 and 2014, Park Sung-hyun in 2015 and 2016, Kim A-rim for three consecutive years from 2018 to 2020, and Yoon I-na in 2022.

Among them, only Yoon I-na has yet to win an LPGA title. The other three leveraged their long drives to achieve considerable success: Kim Se-young with 13 victories, Park Sung-hyun with seven, and Kim A-rim with three.

Now a fifth KLPGA driving distance champion is set to challenge the LPGA. Lee Dong-eun topped last year's KLPGA driving distance rankings with an average of 261.05 yards.

Unable to compete in the first three tournaments due to eligibility requirements, Lee will finally make her debut at the Blue Bay LPGA, held March 5-8 at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course (par 72) in Hainan Province, China.

This tournament marks the first event this season with a cut. While many top-ranked players are absent and 20 players from the China Tour will compete, Lee is expected to feel pressure as a rookie making her debut. She has set making the cut as her primary goal, after which she plans to showcase her trademark long drives while pursuing a top-10 finish in her debut.

Korean golf fans are watching whether Lee can crack the LPGA Tour's top 10 in driving distance this year.

Eight South Korean players have reached the LPGA's top 10 in driving distance at least once, with a combined total of 19 such finishes.

Park Se-ri became the first Korean female golfer to achieve this, ranking seventh in driving distance in 1999, her second year on tour. Park Ji-eun followed with top-10 finishes in three consecutive years: eighth in 2002, fifth in 2003, and fourth in 2004.

Lee Ji-young debuted in fourth place in 2006 and remained in the top 10 for five years through 2010. In 2008, two Korean players reached the top 10 simultaneously—Lee Ji-young in fourth and Park Hee-young in ninth.

From 2011 to 2013, no Korean players appeared in the top 10. Lee Mi-rim revived the streak with an eighth-place finish in 2014, followed by Kim Se-young's 10th-place ranking in 2015 and fourth-place finish in 2016.

Park Sung-hyun, known for her exceptional power, then achieved three consecutive top-10 finishes: seventh in 2017, sixth in 2018, and sixth in 2019. After another absence in 2020, Kim A-rim restored the Korean presence with a fifth-place finish in 2021, followed by fifth in 2022 and ninth in 2024.

Last year, however, no Korean players made the top 10. Kim A-rim finished 11th at 273.32 yards and Yoon I-na 13th at 272.94 yards, narrowly missing the mark. The gap to 10th-place Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark, who averaged 273.69 yards, was just 0.37 yards for Kim A-rim and 0.75 yards for Yoon I-na.

This year, South Korean players have strong prospects for returning to the top 10. Kim A-rim and Yoon I-na continue to hit impressive drives, and they will be joined by former KLPGA driving distance champion Lee Dong-eun.