Chevron Championship contender is rising from a cheating scandal that rocked her life

Yoon herself has never argued that she ultimately made a bad choice.

According to numerous accounts of the situation, Yoon was playing in the Korea Women’s Open in June 2022 when her drive flew far to the right of the fairway. As she looked for her ball, she was told it was in the rough and indeed found a ball. She then played it, only to realize later than it was not her ball. She said later that she wasn’t sure what to do, so she didn’t tell anyone. She missed the cut, but then came her biggest mistake: keeping her silence. Her caddie reportedly threatened to reveal the violation if she did not.

A month later, and during a KLPGA tournament that she eventually won, Yoon was openly accused of the rules violation in the Korean Women’s Open, and a day later she admitted to the Korean Golf Association that she had breached the rules.

The KLPGA’s Reward and Punishment Subcommittee subsequently decided to suspend Yoon for three years for “lack of sportsmanship or disreputable behavior.” The subcommittee said it took into consideration that while Yoon did voluntarily report herself, she did not inform the KLPGA of the violation until long after it happened.

"We will continue to deal sternly with similar incidents," the KLPGA said in a statement.

Through a long process of appeals and considerations, the KGA shortened Yoon’s ban to 18 months, but the KLPGA took no action until January 2024, when it too halved the ban, allowing Yoon to return for the upcoming season.

In the meantime, Yoon, likely looking to escape the scrutiny in Asia, made the interesting choice to move to Tampa, Fla., and play on the Minor League Golf Tour, a men’s circuit on which she was the only woman competing. She ended up making $13,000 and reportedly donated all of the money to girls’ junior golf programs, for which she received a plaque.

Upon her return to the KLPGA in ’24, Yoon’s resurgence was remarkably quick. She captured the season money title, recorded the best scoring average and won $860,000. Next up was her try at the LPGA, and she ended up being the low Korean in the LPGA Qualifying Series to earn her card for 2025. Her rookie season was filled with made cuts (18 of 26), but only one top-10 finish.

Maybe given her decent, but not spectacular play last year, Yoon’s goals for this year seem measured and seemingly reasonable.

“The season starts way nicer than last year, so I'm kind of hoping have one win in this year,” she said in LA. “But I'm doing great, so let's just not force to get win. Just do my process well, like improve every week, so one day I might be there.”

She’s been “there” before. After what Yoon put herself through, she’ll likely be more grateful when she arrives again.