Korea’s Golf Sexy Queen Impresses in Billiards

It sounds like Yoo Hyun-joo is really excelling! Was this related to her skill with a particular sport or event?

With a serious expression, South Korean professional golfer Yoo Hyun-joo (30) gazes at the ball. The shot she made, after focusing her mind, hit the target perfectly, drawing loud applause from the audience.

However, this isn’t a scene from a golf match. She’s not holding a golf club, but a billiard cue. A dazzling transition to professional hustler? Not quite. On January 24th, Yoo Hyun-joo appeared at the opening ceremony of the 8th PBA-LPBA Championship, a professional billiards tour in Korea. She is one of the most popular female professional athletes in Korea, boasting about 400,000 followers on Instagram. She has also participated in the Japan Ladies Tour through an organizer’s invitation, earning her many fans in Japan.

During the off-season, Yoo Hyun-joo participates in various events, including golf programs and sponsor-related activities, fitting them in between her training and practice. The offer to perform the opening shot at a billiards event was one such opportunity. Before the event, she was taught by a professional how to make a tricky “three-cushion” shot and tried it about three to four times. Initially, her grip on the cue was a bit awkward, but during the actual performance, she successfully made the trick shot, surprising the audience and officials. After the opening shot, Yoo Hyun-joo said:

“Three-cushion was a first-time experience. It was my first opening shot, and it was more difficult than I expected.”

As for her main profession in golf, this season she will mainly compete in the second-tier Dream Tour. However, last season she participated in four regular tour events and 15 events in the second-tier tour. She even finished in a tie for 5th in one of the tournaments, showing that her skills are not diminishing. In an interview with the sports and entertainment website eDaily, she stated:

“Right now, I am preparing for the season’s start by focusing on physical fitness and weight training. The swing adjustments I started last year are almost finished, and now I am concentrating on improving my technical skills, such as club selection, approach shots, and various strategies on the course. Golf gets harder the more you play, but I am starting to enjoy it little by little.”

She also expressed her thoughts about the regular tour, where there are many fans:

“Of course, I would love to meet many fans by playing in the regular tour, but just because it’s the second-tier tour doesn’t mean it’s meaningless. As long as there is a stage where I can show the results of my hard work and an opportunity to display my skills, I am fine playing anywhere.”

Yoo Hyun-joo, who declared she would give her best no matter where she is, continues to strive to win as an active tour player, while also balancing various activities such as television appearances and expanding her career in multiple directions. Although she has not yet achieved fully satisfying results as a professional golfer, her multifaceted approach is receiving high praise, with many seeing her as a role model for younger players.

By the way, she is also scheduled to play in several regular tour events in the first-tier this season by invitation, with her first match being the Doosan Construction Weve Championship in April. Although winning may not be easy, many fans are eagerly waiting for her to deliver an exciting performance and boost the women’s tour with a high finish.