Women’s Golf 2015: 10 Moments Worth Remembering (Video)
In Gee Chun delivered a powerful lesson in the importance of keeping commitments.
I got my first peek at In Gee Chun at the 2014 HanaBank Championship, where she got herself into contention for the win but then shot herself in the foot when she sent her ball into the water during the playoff with Brittany Lincicome and Kyu Jung Baek.
I was impressed with Chun’s game then and I became a whole lot more impressed with the player after she won the US Women’s Open this year.
Her pro credentials aside – but make no mistake, they’re impressive credentials – it’s Chun’s personal conduct that got her onto my list of 2015 memorable moments.
2015 was Chun’s first US Women’s Open appearance and she just didn’t seem to understand that rookies don’t win the Open. She played with joy and abandon and, with her mother looking on from behind the ropes, she played her way past some of the biggest names in women’s pro golf and notched the win.
That moment of victory secured her spot on the LPGA. It could have been immediate. But Chun demurred. She had KLPGA tournament commitments. She didn’t want to disrupt her education in the middle of the academic year. Obligation and honor and very practical considerations trumped personal ambition.
Read more about In Gee Chun’s reasons for delaying the start of her rookie year
Those commitments and obligations met, Chun will start her rookie year on the LPGA in January 2016.
Next: Michelle Wie: 2015 True Grit Award