Yealimi Noh posts best LPGA tournament finish in 3 years last weekend in Shanghai
CONCORD, CA (Oct. 20, 2024) — Yealimi Noh continues the rediscovery of her golfing touch that made her a rookie sensation on the 2021 USA Solheim Cup team but bottomed out last year when she had to reenter the LPGA Qualifying Series to retain her player’s card for 2024.
Last weekend the Concord golfer placed fourth at the Buick LPGA Shanghai, her first tournament in Asia this year, earning her first a six-figure payday in three years while carding four rounds all under 69 for an 18 under par total of 270. It was not only her best of the season but her highest finish since the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship where she finished third.
The 23-year-old who was born in San Francisco and raised in Concord has seen her results steadily improve during 2024. Last year she missed the cut in half of her official starts and then needed to go through the LPGA Q-Series to maintain a spot on the tour. She only posted tour earnings of $119,200 a year ago, which was barely more than she earned last weekend with her solo fourth-place check of $108,310.
She has moved into the Top 50 of The Race to the CME Globe, a season-long points competition in every Official LPGA Tournament to gain entry into the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship Nov. 21-24 in Florida. Noh jumped 14 places with last weekend’s result.
Her Buick paycheck put her over $608,000 in earnings for the season and passed the $2 million mark since turning pro in 2020.
She missed only four cuts in 2020 and 21 combined but the last two years failed to make the weekend 22 times. She missed three consecutive cuts this May and June but only one since and placed in the Top 10 two of her last three tournaments.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.