Chevron Championship contender is rising from a cheating scandal that rocked her life

Being called a “cheater” might be the most damning of all labels at every level of golf, and Ina Yoon has had to live with that over the last four years. MORE: Farah O'Keefe has a Texas-sized personality and the game to back it up It doesn’t matter that after Yoon admitted to knowingly hitting and using the wrong ball in a 2022 Korean LPGA Tour event, the 19-year-old rookie from South Korea was slapped with an onerous playing ban of three years. Or that she later donated her money earnings in mini-tour events to junior golf.

Or even when she returned to competition, her presence was scrutinized and heavily debated. (She ended up with a sizeable fan club that collected 5,000 signatures to help get her punishment shortened. ) There are some who probably believe that Yoon still should not be competing, and she lives with that, too.

She has apologized publicly a couple of times, but there’s nothing more to do than keep taking steps forward in what has always been a highly promising career. A frequent winner at every level, Yoon is taking longer strides in her second full season on the LPGA. She already has two top-six finishes in 2026, including a solo fourth in last week’s JM Eagle LA Championship.

And now she’s deep in contention in a major by shooting seven under par over the first 36 holes of the Chevron Championship. The 22-year-old, who played in her first five majors last season, has put herself in a trio that trails runaway leader Nelly Korda by seven shots and second-place Patty Tavakanavit by one. Ina Yoon hits a drive in the first round of the Chevron Championship.