| Danielle Kang | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Kang at the 2013Women's British Open | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Danielle Grace Kang[1] | ||
| Born | (1992-10-20)October 20, 1992 (age 32) San Francisco,California, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | ||
| Career | |||
| College | Pepperdine University (two years) | ||
| Turned professional | 2011 | ||
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined2012) | ||
| Professional wins | 6 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| LPGA Tour | 6 | ||
| Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 1) | |||
| Chevron Championship | T6:2019 | ||
| Women's PGA C'ship | Won:2017 | ||
| U.S. Women's Open | 4th:2018 | ||
| Women's British Open | T32: 2020 | ||
| Evian Championship | T18: 2017 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Danielle Grace Kang (born October 20, 1992) is an Americanprofessional golfer currently playing on theLPGA Tour. As an amateur, she won theU.S. Women's Amateur twice, in 2010 and 2011. She won the2017 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, an LPGA major.
Kang was born on October 20, 1992, inSan Francisco. She grew up inSouthern California, and qualified for theU.S. Women's Open as a 14-year-old in2007. She began high school atOak Park High School and later transferred toWestlake High School early to begin college atPepperdine University inMalibu in the spring of 2010. Kang played extensively as a junior golfer with the Southern California PGA Junior Tour alongside fellow SCPGA alumni such as Lizette Salas and Brianna Do.
Kang played on the Pepperdine golf team through the regular season in the spring of 2011. She was ruled academically ineligible to compete in the 2011 NCAA post-season and stated that she was not disappointed because "Pepperdine is in the past for me. I'm focusing on the future. Turning pro after theU.S. Women's Amateur."[2][3]
Kang won the U.S. Women's Amateur in 2010 and competed in all fourmajors as an amateur in2011. She made the cut in three of the majors, including theLPGA Championship, where she was the only non-professional in the field.[4] Kang was the low amateur at theWomen's British Open, finishing in a tie for 49th place. She repeated her win at the U.S. Women's Amateur in 2011 in August to become the first player in 15 years to win consecutive titles.[5]
Kang played her first tournament as a professional at theWalmart NW Arkansas Championship, in September 2011. She entered on a sponsor's exemption and missed the cut.[6] Kang entered the 2011 LPGAQualifying School. She survived Stage II, shooting +5 (73-74-71-75=293), just inside the cut line to qualify for the final stage.[7] She finished the final stage, Stage III, of Q-School tied for 39th. This gave her conditional status (Priority List Category 20) on the LPGA Tour for2012[8]
Kang played 19 events on the LPGA Tour in 2012, making 13 cuts and finishing the season with $239,184 in earnings, putting her 52nd on the official LPGA season-ending money list. This qualified her for full status on the LPGA Tour in 2013.
Kang earned her first LPGA Tour win,2017 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, in her 144th LPGA Tour start. On October 21, 2018, Kang won the inauguralBuick LPGA Shanghai tournament by two strokes to earn her second career victory. The tournament was held at Qizhong Garden Golf Club inShanghai, China.[9] In October 2019, Kang repeated as champion of the Buick LPGA Shanghai.
On August 2, 2020, Kang won theLPGA Drive On Championship atInverness Club in Ohio. This was the LPGA's first tournament back after a six-month hiatus due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[10] One week later, Kang won her 5th LPGA Tour event at theMarathon Classic.
Kang won the 2020Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average on the LPGA Tour.[11]
On January 23, 2022, Kang won theHilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions atLake Nona Golf & Country Club inOrlando, Florida.[12]
Kang narrowly missed a rare back-to-back wins starting a new LPGA season, when her longtime friendLydia Ko beat her by one stroke in the January 27–30Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio tournament. They were tied at 12-under after the 14th hole in the fourth round, when Ko made a birdie at the 15th to take the lead, and both birdied the 16th; then both parred the final two holes.[13] She earned $184,255 to Ko's $300,000.
Kang stopped playing on the tour after announcing at the end of the2022 U.S. Women's Open on June 5, she had atumor on herspine. She returned to competition at theCP Women's Open on August 25, after treatment.[14]
Kang is a Korean-American born to South Korean parents K.S. Kang and Grace Lee. Her brother Alex played golf forSan Diego State.[15] In 2018, she began a relationship with professional golferMaverick McNealy, who also lives in Las Vegas, but this relationship ended in 2021.[16][17]
| Legend |
|---|
| LPGA Tour major championships (1) |
| Other LPGA Tour (5) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 2,2017 | KPMG Women's PGA Championship | −13 (69-66-68-68=271) | 1 stroke |  Brooke Henderson |
| 2 | Oct 21,2018 | Buick LPGA Shanghai | −13 (67-68-71-69=275) | 2 strokes |  Marina Alex,Brittany Altomare Ariya Jutanugarn, Kim Sei-young Lydia Ko, Liu WenboAnnie Park |
| 3 | Oct 20,2019 | Buick LPGA Shanghai(2) | −16 (69-67-66-70=272) | 1 stroke | Jessica Korda |
| 4 | Aug 2,2020 | LPGA Drive On Championship | −7 (66-73-70=209) | 1 stroke |  Céline Boutier |
| 5 | Aug 9, 2020 | Marathon Classic | −15 (64-67-70-68=269) | 1 stroke |  Jodi Ewart Shadoff,Lydia Ko |
| 6 | Jan 23,2022 | Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions | −16 (68-67-69-68=272) | 3 strokes | Brooke Henderson |
LPGA Tour playoff record (0–3)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019 | BMW Ladies Championship | Jang Ha-na | Lost to birdie on third extra hole |
| 2 | 2021 | Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions | Jessica Korda | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 2022 | Walmart NW Arkansas Championship | Atthaya Thitikul | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Women's PGA Championship | Tied for lead | −13 (69-66-68-68=271) | 1 stroke | Brooke Henderson |
Results not in chronological order.
| ! Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevron Championship | CUT | CUT | T61 | T26 | T26 | T47 | CUT | T6 | T11 | |||||
| Women's PGA Championship | T50 | CUT | T22 | T25 | CUT | T46 | 1 | T33 | T5 | T33 | ||||
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT | 64 | T68 | T14 | CUT | T59 | T47 | T17 | CUT | 4 | CUT | T52 | ||
| The Evian Championship ^ | T31 | CUT | T59 | T30 | T18 | CUT | CUT | NT | ||||||
| Women's British Open | T49 | CUT | T42 | CUT | T56 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T41 | T32 | ||||
| ! Tournament | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevron Championship | 13 | T17 | T28 | CUT |
| U.S. Women's Open | T35 | T63 | CUT | T51 |
| Women's PGA Championship | T5 | T39 | CUT | |
| The Evian Championship | CUT | |||
| Women's British Open | CUT | T69 |
^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevron Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 9 |
| U.S. Women's Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 11 |
| Women's PGA Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 10 |
| The Evian Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
| Women's British Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 62 | 40 |
| Year | Tournaments played | Cuts made* | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10s | Best finish | Earnings ($) | Money list rank | Scoring average | Scoring rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MC | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2011 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T49 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2012 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | T3 | 239,184 | 52 | 72.39 | 50 |
| 2013 | 24 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T5 | 221,649 | 57 | 72.18 | 54 |
| 2014 | 27 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | T5 | 316,239 | 51 | 72.46 | 82 |
| 2015 | 26 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T5 | 292,579 | 62 | 71.72 | 44 |
| 2016 | 27 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | T4 | 505,316 | 36 | 71.12 | 31 |
| 2017 | 25 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1,005,983 | 17 | 71.05 | 42 |
| 2018 | 25 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1,135,441 | 11 | 70.85 | 27 |
| 2019 | 21 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1,511,443 | 9 | 70.07 | 13 |
| 2020 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 897,872 | 4 | 70.08 | 4 |
| 2021 | 21 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 902,244 | 18 | 69.83 | 10 |
| 2022 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1,039,239 | 25 | 69.72 | 9 |
| 2023 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | T3 | 459,154 | 61 | 71.47 | 73 |
| 2024 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T20 | 82,043 | 143 | 73.52 | 157 |
| Totals^ | 291 | 221 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 57 | 1 | 8,608,386 | 39 |
^ Official as of 2024 season[18][19][20]
* Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.
Position inWomen's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.
| Year | Ranking | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 404 | [21] |
| 2011 | 341 | [22] |
| 2012 | 106 | [23] |
| 2013 | 97 | [24] |
| 2014 | 111 | [25] |
| 2015 | 98 | [26] |
| 2016 | 68 | [27] |
| 2017 | 21 | [28] |
| 2018 | 18 | [29] |
| 2019 | 4 | [30] |
| 2020 | 5 | [31] |
| 2021 | 11 | [32] |
| 2022 | 16 | [33] |
| 2023 | 48 | [34] |
| 2024 | 263 | [35] |
Amateur
Professional
| Year | Total matches | Total W–L–H | Singles W–L–H | Foursomes W–L–H | Fourballs W–L–H | Points won | Points % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 16 | 7–9–0 | 2–2–0 | 3–4–0 | 2–3–0 | 7 | 43.8 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3–1–0 | 1–0–0 def.E. Pedersen 3&1 | 1–1–0 won w/L. Salas 1 up, lost w/M. Wie 2&1 | 1–0–0 won w/ M. Wie 3&1 | 3 | 75.0 |
| 2019 | 4 | 1–3–0 | 0–1–0 lost toC. Ciganda 1 up | 0–1–0 lost w/M. Khang 4&3 | 1–1–0 lost w/L. Salas 4&2, won w/ L. Salas 2&1 | 1 | 25.0 |
| 2021 | 4 | 1–3–0 | 0–1–0 lost toE. Pedersen 1 dn | 1–1–0 lost w/A. Ernst 1 dn won w/ A. Ernst 1 up | 0–1–0 lost w/ A. Ernst 3&2 | 1 | 25.0 |
| 2023 | 4 | 2-2-0 | 1-0-0 def.C. Hull 4&2 | 1-1-0 won w/A. Lee 1 up lost w/ A. Lee 1 dn | 0-1-0 lost w/L. Vu 2&1 | 2 | 50.0 |
