SINGAPORE – On some days, putting practice begins at 9pm for Pak Ju-young. The South Korean golfer first has to put her son Kim Ha-yul to bed before she spends the next hour on a putting mat in her home.

Patience and determination are familiar traits for Pak. After all, it took her 279 tries and 15 years – both records on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) – before she finally won her first professional title, having joined the circuit in 2008.