Joo Mi Kim

Born on July 16, 1984, this South Korean golfer started to play the sport at the age of 10. She turned pro on November 2002, after a few years in the amateurs where she placed second in the 2000 Amateur championship and third at the US Women’s Amateur Championship. As an amateur she was also a member of the Korean National Team from 1999-2002 and won gold in the 2002 Asian Games.

2003 was a good year for the South Korean golfer. Joo Mi Kim played for the KLPGA in 2003 and was the winner at the Hansol Ladies Open and the Woori Jeung Kwan Classic, her first two international victories. She was named the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, and led the money list at the same time. She was still the undefeated Hansol Ladies champion in 2004, the same year when she tied for 12th at the LPGA final qualifying tournament to earn exempt status for the 2005 season.

2005 was relatively disappointing for Joo Mi Kim, although it did have its good moments. Her best performance came at the Sybase Classic, where she carded a career low of 65 and finish 5th. She also placed 4th at the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi, and recorded her first LPGA hole in one at the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola.

2006 would prove to be a better year for Joo Mi Kim. She opened the year with her first LPGA win as the Rolex First-Time Winner at the SBS Open, beating Lorena Ochoa at the play-off. A year later she was in the top 15 of the US Women’s Open and finished 47th on the money list. She also recorded her second LPGA career hole-in-one at the Hana Bank-Kolon Championship, as well as a season-best tie for seventh at the LPGA State Farm Classic. Presently, Joo Mi Kim has 1 LPGA victory and 2 LPGA career holes-in-one.