There’s an influx of Asians on the LPGA. And they’re really good. In fact, they win a lot. But many fans find it difficult to keep track of who is who because, you know, all Asians look alike and their names sound the same. So, let’s get to know them better.

• Born and raised in South Korea, she’s 21 years old
• She made her dazzling debut in the American junior golf ranks in 2005 when she won the US Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship and later that summer she achieved medalist honors in the stroke play portion of the US Women’s Amateur Championship
• She tied for first at LPGA Q-school in 2006 and turned pro immediately after
• During her rookie year in 2007, she made some noise with four top-10 finishes almost winning at the Wegmans, but lost in a tough playoff against top-ranked player Lorena Ochoa
• She clinched her first victory on the LPGA at the 2008 Longs Drugs Challenge
• In 2009 she beat co-Asian Se Ri Pak by one stroke to secure her second victory at the State Farm Classic
• She surpassed $2 million in career earnings after her T10 finish at the 2009 Wegmans
• She’s currently ranked 6th on the money list this season
• Nicknames: Inky, I.K.
• Her favorite dessert is strawberry cheesecake, but she maintains a healthy diet of cereal and fruit to prepare for tournaments
• She plays the guitar to relax and her favorite karaoke song is Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold”
• She speaks fluent English (!) and other players enjoy her company and say she’s charming with a great sense of humor

Asian-ness Scale (1-10, 1: Michelle Wie, totally Americanized [born in US, duh!]; 5: Se Ri Pak, somewhat assimilated; 10: Eun-Hee Ji, 한국말): In-Kyung = 4

[Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images]

There’s an influx of Asians on the LPGA. And they’re really good. In fact, they win a lot. But many fans find it difficult to keep track of who is who because, you know, all Asians look alike and their names sound the same. So, let’s get to know them better.

• Born and raised in Okinawa, Japan, she’s 24 years old
• As an amateur, she won her first professional tournament on the Japanese LPGA Tour in 2003
• She dominated the JLPGA for two years with 15 victories, including 5 during her rookie year
• Her outstanding victory at the Japan Open Championship when she was 20 made her the youngest JLPGA player to triumph in a major (!) with 32,000 people in the gallery (the largest ever)
• She ran away from the field at LPGA Q-school in 2005, winning by a mind-blowing 12 strokes
• After totally killing it on the JLPGA, everyone had ginormous expectations for Ai-chan, but the hype died down when she was winless on the LPGA for four years, which resulted in heavy scrutiny from the fickle Japanese fans
• Her first victory on the LPGA was at the Evian Masters in July ‘09, where she beat Sophie Gustafson in a playoff and was ceremoniously groped by two Frenchmen
• She’s one of the most recognizable athletes in Japan with omnipresent ads of her adorable, smiling face plastered across the country
• Other players say you wouldn’t know she was born and raised in Japan if you met her because she speaks English, does interpreter-free interviews and looks like a half-breed
• She travels Diddy-style with a small entourage

Asian-ness Scale (1-10, 1: Michelle Wie, totally Americanized (born in US, duh!); 5: Se Ri Pak, somewhat assimilated; 10: Eun-Hee Ji, 한국말): Ai, 5

[Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images Europe]

There’s an influx of Asians on the LPGA. And they’re really good. In fact, they win a lot. But many fans find it difficult to keep track of who is who because, you know, all Asians look alike and their names sound the same. So, let’s get to know them better.

• Born and raised in San Jose, California, Christina is 25 years old
• In 2004 she became the youngest player to reach $1 million in earnings
• She has two wins on the LPGA, 2004 Longs Drug Challenge and 2005 The Mitchell Company of Champions
• This year she finished T3 at the British Open
• She has a serious addiction to Twitter: “It’s like crack.”
• She’s known for her gregarious and animated personality both on and off the course — and her colorful (sometimes NSFW) language — she makes golf FUN!
• The most inappropriate question she’s been asked by fans or Pro-Am partners is: “How do you swing around those tits?”
• As head cheerleader, her unbridled enthusiasm helped lead the US Solheim Cup Team to a victory over Europe, and she played well, finishing with a 3-1-0 record
• She was one of three lovely LPGA players that undressed for the ESPN Body Issue
• She enjoys photography, running, yoga, dancing and reading and the Discovery Channel

Asian-ness Scale (1-10, 1: Michelle Wie, totally Americanized (born in US, duh!); 5: Se Ri Pak, somewhat assimilated; 10: Eun-Hee Ji, 한국말): Christina = 1

[Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images]

There’s an influx of Asians on the LPGA. And they’re really good. In fact, they win a lot. But many fans find it difficult to keep track of who is who because, you know, all Asians look alike and their names sound the same. So, let’s get to know them better.

• Born and raised in South Korea, she’s just 21 years old
• During her amazing breakout year in 2007, she won 10 KLPGA events
• She has a whopping 29 total professional wins: 20 on the KLPGA, 1 on the JLPGA, 2 on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and 6 on the LPGA
• In 2008 she became the first non-LPGA member to win 3 tournaments, including the Women’s British Open, which earned her status as a full time member of the LPGA
• She is currently first on the money list and the front runner for both Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, making an impressive 19 cuts in 20 starts and winning 3 times on the LPGA
• Nicknames: “Little Angel,” “Smiling Angel,” “Cinderella of the Field,” “Final Round Queen” and, for some reason, “Big Mama”
• She speaks decent English and does her press conferences interpreter-free
• She likes to shop at Banana Republic and enjoys cooking

Asian-ness Scale (1-10, 1: Michelle Wie, totally Americanized; 5: Se Ri Pak, somewhat assimilated; 10: Eun-Hee Ji, 한국말): Jiyai = 7

[Photo by Dave Martin/Getty Images]