Jenny Bae’s career in golf has been marked by consistent success at every level.
The past GSGA Player of the Year made a name for herself as a junior winning multiple AJGA events and capturing the 2018 Georgia Girls’ Championship setting the 54-hole championship record at 9-under 207.
While at the University of Georgia in Athens Bae continued to shine becoming a three-time All-American. At the state level, Bae picked up a victory at the 2020 Georgia Women’s Match Play Championship and reached the pinnacle of women’s amateur golf in the Peach State taking home the prestigious Eleanor M. Keeler Memorial Trophy at the 2021 Georgia Women’s Amateur Championship at Coosa Country Club in Rome.
Bae with the Eleanor M. Keeler Memorial Trophy after winning the 2021 Georgia Women's Amateur Championship
It came as no surprise when she transitioned to the professional ranks in 2023, Bae wasted no time making an impact on the Epson Tour. In just her second start that summer, Bae captured the Hartford Healthcare Women’s Championship and followed it her next time out with a win at the Twin Bridges Championship.
Bae narrowly missed earning her LPGA Tour card for 2024 but continued her success on the Epson Tour racking up six top 10s, including her third victory at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout – the final regular season event before the Epson Tour Championship.
The victory put Bae in a much better position heading into the finale and helped Bae to a seventh place finish in the Epson Tour Race for the Card earning her LPGA Tour card for the 2025 season.
“I definitely feel like that win in El Dorado definitely helped relieve some of that stress and pressure that I had walking into the Epson Tour Championship,” Bae said. “I was still nervous, but I had all my crew with me, and they really helped me guide me to where I am today.
“When I got my card and I held it in my hand, it did not feel real. I was like ‘Wow, is my name really on this card?’ I was super stoked. I am still excited to compete the rest of the year.”
Bae after winning the 2023 Twin Bridges Championship on the Epson Tour (Courtesy LPGA Archive).
Bae made her first start as an official LPGA member this February at the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands firing an opening round 69 before just missing the cut.
“It is still that unreal feeling,” Bae said of her two starts on the LPGA in 2025. “I've worked so hard and my goal ever since I was young was to one day be able to play on the LPGA Tour. “Now that I got my card, it is still like a dream come true feeling. I definitely feel like I'm back to square one and I have to relearn everything and be able to know how to compete back out there again, but so far it has been good.”
With two events under her belt so far, Bae is learning more tips and tricks on how to survive on the LPGA and get the best out of her game each week.
“I definitely feel like there are some things that I need to improve and work on physically, but also just the way how they practice,” Bae noted. “They don't spend as much time on the useless stuff. They just seem to focus on the small things that can make everything better and then after that, they just do their own thing, and they leave when they want.
“Growing up, I felt like the longer and the harder I practiced each day then the more it would make me a better player. The more I play on the professional level, I feel like that's starting to break.”
For Bae, she is also focused on keeping loose during rounds and not focusing on the future of each day.
“Just trying to let myself go and being able to try and compete as if I'm just playing a practice round back at home,” Bae said. “Having that relaxed feeling instead of worrying too much about where the ball is going to go and whether if it is going to be on the fairway or if it's going to be in a divot. I just really want to try and let some tensions go.”
While Bae is still building relationships with other players on the LPGA, she is relying on the advice of a legend and hall of famer to guide her through her rookie campaign.
“I got the chance to go out to California and meet Juli Inkster last year,” Bae, who won the 2023 Juli Inkster Award given to the highest ranked collegiate golfer, said. “I asked her a few questions and she gave me great advice. One piece of advice was just keep your head down and never compare yourself to others. When everyone has their trainer, their manager and a friend are always travelling with them and I have nobody but my caddy and maybe one of my parents, she said you don't ever think that you are any less than them. It is your rookie year, so go out there and have fun and try to soak everything in and just play golf.
“I think that advice will stick to me forever.”
While Bae’s main goal of course is to play well enough in 2025 to keep her card for 2026, she wants to enjoy her rookie year as much as possible.
“I've talked to a few other rookies from last year, and they all say the same thing that your rookie year is one of the hardest years you will play on the LPGA Tour,” Bae said. “All that stress and pressure on you feeling like you have to play well every single round for the entire year.
“The main thing for me is to have fun out there and just try to soak everything in being able to practice alongside on the best players in the world. I think I am just excited to see who I play with and how I can improve as a person and a golfer.”
(Main image courtesy LPGA Archive)