IN BACK
THE GAME
PLAYING FEARLESS Suh can best be described as a talented , self-deprecating , unintentionally comical , hard-working Korean-American woman who could always hold her own against the boys in junior golf . She can also utter “ Roll Tide ” with a perfect Southern drawl after a decorated college career at Furman University and the University of Alabama .
Jenny learned the game from her father , Jung Suh , an avid amateur player . When she was able to consistently beat her dad around age 14 , her father handed her over to swing coach Kirk Lucas to refine her skills .
At the time , Lucas operated a teaching and practice facility in Gainesville , Va ., called The Farm . Students went there to polish their shot-making , but also to enjoy some country air . The facility featured a pond with ducks and a place where they could be kids , as well as golf prodigies .
“ We would go fishing whenever we got bored with golf and I would come home in white golf shorts covered in dirt and my mom would ask what I had been doing ,” said Suh . “ It was never like a one-hour lesson . We would go there and spend the day and you had to be super-accurate because you also had to pick up those balls you hit .”
Lucas recognized Suh ’ s spunk right away and encouraged it . The teen wasn ’ t afraid to compete head-to-head with the boys and told her coach she took special delight in making an eight-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the 2002 Group AAA state high school golf individual title , pacing Chantilly High with a 72-stroke average . She also won the state high school 2002 Girls ’ Golf Open . Under Virginia High School League ( VHSL ) rules , boys and girls compete together on the boys ’ golf team .
“ She told me all the boys were cheering against her at that championship and she said , ‘ I showed them ,’ when she rolled in her final birdie putt ,” said Lucas , who now teaches at River Bend Club in Great Falls .
“ I just remember playing fearless golf and having fun ,” added Suh . “ And I ’ ve always tried not to lose golf balls because they ’ re expensive .”
A RISING STAR At 5-foot-3 , Suh wasn ’ t the longest hitter among her peers in junior , amateur , collegiate , and later , professional golf , but what she lacked in length , she made up in short-game precision , tenacity and on-course smarts .
As a junior , she was named to the 2001 Junior Ryder Cup team and added a title defense at the 2001 VSGA Junior Girls ’ Championship . As an amateur , she won the 2006 North and South Women ’ s Amateur Golf Championship and was named to the victorious 2006 U . S . Curtis Cup Team .
Suh was the 2004 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year while at Furman University and won the individual title at the 2005 Southern Conference Championship .
When Paladins coach Mic Potter left Furman for Alabama , Suh transferred with her coach and went on to post 12 top-10 finishes , including three collegiate wins , with the Crimson Tide . She also earned 2006 First-Team All-America honors , was a two-time All-SEC selection and was named the 2006 VSGA Women ’ s Golfer of the Year .
“ We have a number of members from Northern Virginia here at the Dye Preserve and they often share stories with me about Jenny ’ s reputation as a golfer in her home state ,” said Suh ’ s husband Kurt Thompson , director of golf at the Dye Preserve in Florida , as well as at Linville Ridge Country Club in North Carolina . “ To learn about those things for the first time has been a real wow-factor for me .”
Suh turned professional in 2007 after earning a communications degree at Alabama . She played on the Futures Tour — now called the Epson Tour — for three seasons , winning once in 2009 . Her rookie year on the LPGA Tour was in 2011 , but by the end of the 2015 season , Suh decided it was time to get off the road .
“ I loved every second of it back then , but your dreams change ,” said Suh . “ I was ready for a quieter life .”
“ I loved every second of it back then , but your dreams change , I was ready for a quieter life .”
— Jenny Suh Thompson
Lauren Coughlin played at the University of Virginia from 2012-16 and holds the Cavaliers ’ all-time record for lowest single tournament round ( 65 ).