Ladies of the Links Featured Player: A Lim Kim
Dec 14th 2020
Having only played a handful of events on the LPGA Tour, many people may have been saying “who?” when A Lim Kim won the 75th U.S. Women’s Open after recording birdies on the final three holes. The 25-year-old from South Korea, who has been a member of the KLPGA, last played in an LPGA event at the BMW Ladies Championship last year, where she tied for 50th.
Kim was born on October 4, 1995 and has been on the KLPGA Tour since 2016. Her first taste at professional golf came on the Dream Tour in Korea starting in late 2013. Kim was solid but far from spectacular on during her first two years on the KLPGA Tour, finishing 47th and 49th on the money list.
What became evident quickly was the pure power that the 5’ 9” Kim displayed. She led the KLPGA in driving distance in 2018 and that helped translate into breakthrough season. Kim finished third nearly halfway through the 2018 season and nearly took down Inbee Park in the finals at the Doosan Match Play. Another second-place finish followed for Kim before winning her first KLPGA event at the 2018 Se Ri Pak Invitational. Kim’s season included eight top-ten finishes and 6th on the KLPGA Tour money list.
Kim’s excellent play in 2018 qualified her for the KLPGA team at the OrangeLife Championships Trophy. She won all three of her matches, defeating Danielle Kang in singles, and with Ji Hyun Kim and Jeongeugn Lee6 in team play. Kim earned her second KLPGA Tour win in 2019 along with nine other top-ten finishes and finished 11th on the KLPGA Tour money list. She finished as KLPGA Team MVP at the OrangeLife KLPGA – LPGA team competition.
This season, Kim started the season finishing 20th at the 42nd KLPGA Championship. The next eight events were a struggle for Kim, finishing in the top 25 only twice and outside the top 50 in each of the other six events. Three top 20 finishes include a tie for 11th at the 2020 Autech Carrier Championship fueled a late season run. Kim entered the U.S. Women’s Open playing her best golf, having made three consecutive top ten finishes.
The win for Kim at the 75th U.S. Women’s Open is clearly a career changing moment for Kim. It will give her increasing confidence in upcoming majors for 2021 and beyond, and perhaps the United States audience will be fortunate enough to see Kim tee it up more frequently on the LPGA Tour.
