"All rookies aim for the Rookie of the Year award and one win in their first season. I want to be a bit different and win two tournaments."
Yang Hyo-jin (19, Daebo Construction), dubbed a "super rookie" on the 2026 Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, made this declaration in a recent interview with Seoul Economic Daily, adding, "I will show you a turnaround this year with aggressive play."
The former national team member earned her full seed on the regular tour at remarkable speed, just five months after joining the KLPGA. She joined as an associate member in June last year, became a full member in August after winning two consecutive Jump (third-tier) Tour events, and topped the seed ranking tournament—known as the "hell round"—in November. At the 2024 Australian Open, she finished third after a close title battle with veteran Shin Ji-ae, demonstrating her early promise.
Since committing to a career in golf, Yang has maintained four disciplined habits: studying, reading, running, and physical training. In her upper elementary school years, she read 1,000 English picture books over six months. "I think I read so hard because my mom promised to buy me a kids' electric scooter," she explained. Even during high school, when golf kept her busiest, she attended weekend academy classes on Sunday evenings to study math and Korean. She reads at least five books a year. "When I dive too deep into one thing, I tend to overthink, so I need to clear my mind with something else," Yang reflected. "When I was a student, studying provided that fresh change of pace." These days, she is immersed in studying Japanese. "When I competed in the Suntory tournament, I had such a great feeling that I thought I'd love to play on the Japan Tour someday," she said. Yang finished sixth at Japan Tour's Suntory Ladies Open last year.
To play healthy golf until age 100, she never neglects exercises like push-ups and pull-ups. She does three sets of 15 push-ups and 5 to 10 pull-ups per session, and even has a pull-up bar at home. Despite her modest height (161 cm), she comfortably hits driver shots of 230 to 240 meters—a power rooted in daily physical training since her junior days.
For Yang, her father serves as her manager and her mother as her mental coach. Her father, Yang Moon-ho, a Jeju Provincial Government official, even had her train in paragliding to build courage and lower-body strength. Based in Jeju, Yang flies to Gimpo Airport with her father every weekend for golf lessons in the Seoul metropolitan area. Her mother, Ko Young-lim, a psychological and speech therapist, is starting a doctoral program in sports psychology at Hanyang University this year—her daughter's debut season on the regular tour. "My mom isn't the type to tell me 'do this, do that.' She just suggests ways to change the atmosphere, and that helps a lot," Yang said.
Yang started golf because she "loved the feeling when I hit a good shot," and she still loves the game just as much. "When I play a round well, I forget all the bad memories from before. I think I don't get tired of it because I don't overthink golf," she said. "I want to compete until at least my late 40s, and I want to keep playing golf until I'm 100."
