Life is like an ice cream cone. Enjoy it before it melts.
That’s the one sentence on Instagram that LPGA rookie Hyo Joon Jang uses to describe her approach to life - a no-holds-barred, seize the moment attitude, that has put her on the fast-track to the top of the women’s game.
And it’s the same way that Jang tackled moving day at the Portland Classic to card the low round of the tournament and soar from a tie for 25th to the top of the leaderboard.
“I think playing smart was really a key for me,” Jang told the media after her round on Saturday. “And then staying more calm so I could more see what's going on. And then the putting was definitely helping me.”
Jang needed just 22 putts on day three at Columbia Edgewater Country Club to card not just the low round of the week, but also her career best on the LPGA Tour. On Saturday, the 20-year-old from the Republic of Korea got off to a lightning start with six birdies in her first seven holes and gave up just a single stroke at the par four, ninth hole. But she got right back to making birdies on the back nine as she added five more after the turn. The slick, downhill, 15-footer she rolled in at the par-4 18th for her 11th birdie of the day is the one putt Jang says she won’t soon forget.
“It was a little faster than I thought, but it went in, thank God,” Jang said about her closing birdie. “I didn't give up until the end and I try my best, so I want to give credit to myself.”
Jang moved to the United States from Korea at the age of 16 and made her way quickly through the ranks to the Tour. After just a single season competing on the Epson Tour, she finished in the 10th and final qualifying spot on the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card to earn her LPGA Tour card for 2023
For so many players who make the transition to the LPGA Tour, the first year is full of pinch-me moments, including getting to meet or even play with the players they’ve looked up to as junior golfers. Saturday, Jang got to enjoy one of those special moments in Portland as she was grouped with her longtime idol, Hyo Joo Kim.
“She was very like biggest role model to me when I was young, and was really grateful to play with her. I really enjoyed it,” Jang said about playing with the major champion. “She said it was really good round and she was so nice.”
The LPGA rookie’s ability to rocket to the upper echelon of women’s golf so quickly has been made all the more impressive given that she has dealt with back pain throughout her career.
This week, Jang is making just her seventh start since joining the Tour, her first start came in April at the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii in which Golf Channel reported that she had undergone surgery earlier in the year which delayed her start to the season. Her pain returned at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in June, which sidelined her two months. Jang only returned to competition last week at the CPKC Women’s Open. She told Golf Channel in after the third round that while she usually feels discomfort in her back, she was pain-free during the day.
“Feeling much better,” Jang said about her back. “I wasn't playing much this year but I'm going to play more, so I'm more excited in the future. So there is nothing much to talk about this season yet.”
Jang gave the golf world plenty to talk about on Saturday. And something of the rest of the field to think about on Moving Day.
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