Candie Kung (Chinese: 龔怡萍; pinyin: Gōng Yípíng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kióng Sîn-phêng; born 8 August 1981) is an American professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour.
| Candie Kung 龔怡萍 | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Kung I-Ping[1] |
| Born | 8 August 1981 Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Sporting nationality |  Taiwan United States |
| Residence | Allen, Texas, U.S. |
| Career | |
| College | University of Southern California |
| Turned professional | 2001 |
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 2002) |
| Former tour(s) | Futures Tour (2000–01) |
| Professional wins | 5 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| LPGA Tour | 4 |
| Epson Tour | 1 |
| Best results in LPGA major championships | |
| Chevron Championship | T8: 2004 |
| Women's PGA C'ship | T10: 2008 |
| U.S. Women's Open | 2nd: 2009 |
| Women's British Open | T4: 2002 |
| Evian Championship | T11: 2015 |
Amateur career
Kung was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She was a three-time American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) All-American and was named 1999 AJGA Player of the Year. She won the 2001 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. While at USC, Kung was a two-time NCAA All-American and won the 2000 Pac-10 Championship.
Professional career
After turning pro in 2001, Kung initially played on the second tier Futures Tour, and she won the SBC Futures Tour Championship that year. She tied for 15th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to win a place on the main tour for 2002. She had a solid rookie season, finishing 36th on the money list. In 2003, she won her first three LPGA events, and was sixth on the money list. She finished 17th on the money list in 2004, tied for 11th in 2005, and 29th in 2006. Kung won her fourth LPGA tournament at the Hana Bank-KOLON Championship in 2008.
Kung came close to winning the 2009 U.S. Women's Open. She finished the tournament at one over 285 and was tied for first till Eun-Hee Ji birdied the final hole to take home the title.
Personal information
Kung was born in Taiwan and moved to the United States in 1995. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in approximately 2005; She does not hold dual citizenship. She currently lives in Allen, Texas.[2]
Professional wins (5)
LPGA Tour (4)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 Apr 2003 | LPGA Takefuji Classic | −12 (67-67-70=204) | 2 strokes |  Kang Soo-yun Cristie Kerr Annika Sörenstam |
| 2 | 24 Aug 2003 | Wachovia LPGA Classic | −14 (71-67-66-70=274) | 2 strokes | Meg Mallon Se Ri Pak |
| 3 | 31 Aug 2003 | State Farm Classic | −14 (64-67-71=202) | 1 stroke |  Laura Davies |
| 4 | 2 Nov 2008 | Hana Bank-KOLON Championship | −6 (70-71-69=210) | 1 stroke |  Katherine Hull |
LPGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2008 | Navistar LPGA Classic | Cristie Kerr Lorena Ochoa | Ochoa won with par on second extra hole Kerr eliminated by par on first hole |
Futures Tour (1)
- 2001 (1) SBC FUTURES Tour Championship
Results in LPGA majors
Results not in chronological order before 2018.
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANA Inspiration | CUT | T28 | T8 | T9 | T24 | T60 | T21 | T30 | |||
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT | CUT | T5 | T6 | T28 | T58 | T19 | 2 | |||
| Women's PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T64 | T13 | T44 | T10 | T57 | ||||
| Women's British Open ^ | T4 | T10 | T29 | T22 | T10 | T33 | T42 | CUT | |||
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANA Inspiration | T69 | T62 | T49 | T69 | T71 | T69 | T65 | T56 | T66 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T28 | T13 | CUT | WD | T30 | T56 | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| Women's PGA Championship | 72 | T20 | 29 | T44 | T48 | T34 | T72 | T20 | CUT |
| Women's British Open | CUT | T14 | 38 | T25 | CUT | T36 | T31 | T49 | |
| The Evian Championship ^^ | T52 | T50 | T11 | T14 | T32 | ||||
^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001
^^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANA Inspiration | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 16 |
| U.S. Women's Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 10 |
| Women's PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 13 |
| Women's British Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 13 |
| The Evian Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Totals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 71 | 57 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 23 (2003 British Open – 2009 U.S. Open)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2003 British Open – 2004 Kraft Nabisco)
Team appearances
Amateur
- Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Chinese Taipei): 2000
Professional
References
External links
- Candie Kung at the LPGA Tour official site
- Candie Kung at the Women's World Golf Rankings official site