Born on July 16, 1988, this young Korean phenomenon was making heads turn with the way she plays golf. She debuted in the LPGA in 2007 but had a lot of career highlights as an amateur before turning pro. Song Hee Kim is a recognized amateur golfer in Korea; in fact she is one of the country’s top amateur golfers. This status gave her entry to become a member in the national team for the years 2004 and 2005. She even managed to play several KLPGA events. In the summer of 2005, Song Hee Kim spent her summer at a golf school in South Carolina trying to work on her game.
Late in 2005, Song Hee Kim decided to play in the Futures Tour Qualifying Tournament as an amateur and shocked everyone present in the match. Not only did she win the tournament, she took the lead and managed to beat Britanny Lang by five shots. While Song Hee Kim’s performance proved that she could compete with other players on the tournament, her age did not allow her to become a professional golfer just yet. Not to be deterred by her age, Song Hee Kim petitioned to make an exemption for her. With Song Hee Kim’s poise and talent, tour authorities could see her potential and allowed her to become a full member by the year 2006. So impressed were the tour that they decided to lower the age limit to 17 years old.
| Born | 16 Jul 1988 |
| Nationality |
South Korea
|
Though the lowering of the age limit managed to let other young golfers into the tour such as Angela Park and In-Bee Park, Song Hee Kim was still taking on the limelight with her impressive game. She finished 8th in her first professional event, worked even harder and finished 3rd at her second event. By the time her third event came, Song Hee Kim made golfing history, she won the Louisiana Futures Classic and became the youngest professional woman golfer to ever win in a professional golf event in the United States of America. Song did it again at the IOS Futures Golf Classic, beating out Sarah Huarte for another title, Song’s second. After that, Song’s victories kept on rolling. Her third win was at the Aurora Health Care Championship, her fourth was at the Cigna Chip and her fifth was at the Gettysburg Championship. All these wins gave Song the Player of the Year Award, the Rookie of the Year Award and an exempt status at the 2007 LPGA. However, Song’s 2007 rookie year at the LPGA was far from impressive as Song was struggling to even make the cut. Now in 2008, Song’s fans are hoping for a better performance, believing in the young Korean’s talents and abilities.
Currently, Kim has a total of 5 professional wins, but all of these were won on the Futures Tour. It was only in 2009 and 2010 that she was able to join the Major Championships.
