If you are a person of sport, the name Danielle Kang might have crossed your radar. This American professional golfer started her career with the US Women’s Open held by USGA in 2007. She was only fourteen when she qualified for the Open. Kang had just started her schooling at Oak Park High School. She did not let her education interfere with golf. She continued her golf career right alongside her studies.
Danielle Kang has an awe-inspiring golf career that started at a young age. Despite some ups and downs, she proved to be one of the best women golfers in the world. The professional golfer also has quite an interesting personal life. Due to another golfer’s name being associated with this talented woman. Maverick McNealy is not Danielle Kang’s husband but her boyfriend.
Who is Danielle Kang?
This talented golfer was born in San Francisco on October 20, 1992. After qualifying for the USGA Women’s Open, Kang continued to play as a junior golfer. She was also a part of the Pepperdine golf team in 2011 when she was enrolled there. Kang could not continue her season at Pepperdine as she was academically ineligible. It might have been a slight hiccup in her golf career, but more extraordinary things were soon to come.
Danielle turned professional in 2011 with the US Women’s Amateur. She has two consecutive wins at the Women’s Amateur in 2010 and 2011, making her the first golfer in fifteen years to do so. Kang was the only non-professional playing in the field at the LPGA Championship.
Kang played on her first professional tour at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in September 2011. She was nineteen when she officially became a professional golfer. Kang entered the LPGA Qualifying School in the same year. And in the following year, she played at 19 events on the LPGA tour. Kang received her first full status at the LPGA in 2013.
She bagged her first LPGA tour win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2017. Since then, Kang has won six LPGA tours in total. On October 21, 2018, the professional golfer won her first Buick LPGA Shanghai event by two strokes. Danielle also won her fifth Vare Trophy tour in 2020. Later, she won the Buick LPGA Shanghai for the second time in 2019. On various occasions, Kang has acted as a commentator and analyst for Golf Channels.
Kang was absent from the golf action in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After around six months, she made a comeback by winning the Drive On Championship of the LPGA in August 2020. Merely a week later, Kang won her the fifth LPGA Tour of her career at the Marathon Classic. Kang won the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at the beginning of 2022.
Kang did not shy away from using her privilege to help the needy. She collaborated with UNICEF for the Birdies To Build Better Futures campaign. During the campaign, for every birdie she made at the course, money was donated to the cause to assist children in underdeveloped countries for a brighter future.
With a net worth of $60 million, Kang is one of the most successful golfers in the sector. She has been ranked among the top 10 golfers in the world.
Danielle Kang Caddie
Kang has had a caddie named Olly Brett since 2017. The young caddie is in a relationship with another famous golfer Emily Kristine Pedersen. Kang played against Pederson in the finals of the Solheim Cup.
Danielle Kang’s Personal Life
Not just Danielle Kang but the people around her are professional golfers. Kang has an older brother, Alex Kang, who also played professional golf for San Diego State. In 2019, the announcement came that Kang was dating fellow professional golfer Maverick McNealy. Some unreliable sources might claim that McNealy is Danielle Kang’s husband, but the couple was never married.
Danielle Kang’s parents are both South Korean, KS Kang and Grace Lee. Danielle was born and brought up in Southern California. She holds dual citizenship, which makes her a Korean-American. She started living in Las Vegas soon after her golf career took off, making her one of the most notable golfers in the world.
Who is Maverick McNealy?
McNealy is still relatively new when playing professional golf compared to his partner. He said in an interview that he is a baby compared to Kang regarding professional golf. McNealy started his professional golfing career in 2017, the same year Kang won her first LPGA tour.
Born on November 7, 1995, Maverick McNealy was also a California resident. He graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Management Science and Engineering in the class of 2018.
At only 18 years of age, McNealy qualified for the US Open in 2014. He already had a pretty promising career in golf ahead of him. McNealy was considered the most highly-rated young golf prospect in the USA in 2016. But his professional career was still in jeopardy because of his indecision.
Maverick McNealy is the son of Scott McNealy. His father is a famous name in Silicon Valley and the co-founder of Sun Microsystems. As the son of a billionaire and a Stanford graduate in Management Science and Engineering, McNealy was unsure whether he wanted to continue his golf career.
Being a part of the elite society, McNealy has played golf from a young age. He accompanied his father to many golf games, country clubs, and whatnot. But despite having such a close relationship with golf, McNealy was unsure in which direction he wanted his career to precede. It was also probably in his genes since Scott McNealy had been a keen golfer until 1982. He decided to put aside his interest in golf and focus on business.
The Wall Street Journal even published an article on McNealy titled “Why America’s Best Golf Prospect May Never Turn Pro.” With such a vast inheritance waiting for him, McNealy was probably the wealthiest golf prodigy then.
McNealy was only 21 years old at the time. During his interview, McNealy said he knows the many opportunities he is presented with. But it also meant that great things were expected of him. It was typical for a young man in his position to feel overwhelmed at that time.
But his doubts cleared up after the Walker Cup in 2017 when McNealy announced that he would pursue his professional golf career. Safeway Open (now the Fortinet Championship) was the first professional game of McNealy. The Open was a part of the PGA tour, paving McNealy’s path to join the big leagues.
McNealy joined the PGA tour in 2019 after saying goodbye to the Korn Ferry Tour. He is currently playing in the PGA tour.
The Golf Power Couple
Danielle Kang and Maverick McNealy met at The Summit Club in 2019. The golfer duo was both smitten with each other. Their similar interests and passion for golf helped them connect quickly. They both live in Las Vegas, so it made it easier for the couple to meet on dates.
Kang and McNealy have been pretty open about their relationship since it was announced publicly. Though they are both focused on their golf career, they also take time for each other. Their social media feeds have posts and pictures of them together to give their followers a glimpse.
McNealy has shared how he feels lucky that his partner is in the same profession. Their ideologies and viewpoints align with each other quite nicely. Since they both play golf professionally, there are no grievances in the relationship about the other’s career.
Kang has affectionately called McNealy a dork in her interviews and said she is proud of him. She also stated how much they admire each other.
Motivating Each Other
Since Kang and McNealy are in the same field, one can only guess whether they talk about their work on their dates. It is evident that Kang is more experienced when it comes to professional golfing. But the couple doesn’t shy away from giving each other tips or encouragement to do their best.
Kang and McNealy have both attended each other’s games whenever their schedules allowed them. But even if they could not attend physically, the golf-power couple showed their support through motivational remarks. McNealy recalls their earlier dating days in 2019 when he was playing the final round for the Houston Cup.
Kang was also busy with her game at the Solheim Cup. It was not possible for her to show up at her boyfriend’s game. But she did give him some advice. She advised him to keep his mental scorecard more difficult and not to glance at the actual scorecard during the game. She also told him to think of positive things after each shot so he could focus with more optimism. With his girlfriend’s wise words, McNealy played one of his finest games during that round at the Houston Cup.
McNealy was already very proficient in Spanish. Kang is a Korean-American, and her mother tongue is Korean. English has always been her second language. After dating for a few months, McNealy decided to learn Korean at the beginning of 2020. It is pretty obvious where his motivation came from.
Kang decided to help her boyfriend learn Korean. She gifted him a Korean textbook and gave him a Korean word of the day to keep him on track.
McNealy thinks that the reason their relationship has worked so well from the beginning is that they understand they both understand the struggles that come with being a professional golfer. He admitted that he has to work really hard to reach a similar height as Kang. But McNealy still has a long road ahead of him, and he does not shy away from asking for advice from his girlfriend, who is one of the top-ranked golfers in the world.
FAQ
Does Danielle Kang have a brother?
Yes, Danielle Kang has an older brother – Alex Kang. He is also a professional golf player.
What is the status of Danielle Kang?
Danielle Kang announced this year that she is taking a break from golfing in June 2022. The LPGA winner needs to focus on her health during this break as she has a tumour.
Who is Danielle Kang’s husband?
Danielle Kang is not married; she is in a relationship with fellow professional golfer Maverick McNealy.
What type of tumour does Danielle Kang have?
Danielle Kang announced earlier this year that she has been playing golf with a spinal tumour. But she decided to step back from her tournaments to focus on getting better.
Final Words
Danielle Kang is a big name in the sports industry. This remarkable woman marked her place in golf from a very young age and climbed through the ranks like a champion. Her personal life has also been a good one, with a supportive boyfriend who shares her views and struggles. It is quite tragic that this talented golfer had to step away from her game for some time due spinal tumor.
After going through months of treatment, Danielle Kang returned to her golf world once again on August 2022. But it is evident that her body still needs some time to recover properly. Here’s to hoping that Kang gets back to her prime. And even if the golfer decides to retire due to her physical condition, the golfer has an impressive career that she can look back at with pride.