Kim’s victories have all been dramatic
Sei Young Kim has been a rookie terror on the LPGA this season, winning three times. But the most impressive part of her wins has been the clutch performance down the stretch – despite a bit of an uneasy, but focused, feeling.
“I don’t think, I was like really nervous on the last putt,” Kim, 22, said after winning the Blue Bay LPGA in China last Sunday. “I can hear my heart pound. I was just sitting down, yeah. When I hit the ball, I draw in my mind, nothing, nothing, I just focus what I do. That what’s my key.”
Here’s a look at Kim’s victories this season:
| Tournament | Date | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic | Feb. 8 | Trailing by one entering the 72nd hole, Kim birdied the final hole to join a playoff with Ariya Jutanugarn and Sun Young Yoo. She made a 4-foot birdie on the first playoff hole to win. |
| LOTTE Championship Presented by Hershey | April 18 | After driving in the hazard on the final hole of regulation, she chipped in for par to force a playoff with Inbee Park. On the first playoff hole, she holed an 8-iron from 154 yards to eagle the final hole and win. |
| Blue Bay LPGA | Nov. 1 | Tied entering the final hole with playing partners Candie Kung and Stacy Lewis and Kim Kaufman, who had finished, Kim watched Lewis (from 20 feet) and Kung (from 9 feet) miss birdie putts before she made a 7-footer to win |
| There’s little wonder that Kim was prepared for this. In her Korean LPGA career, she won four of five playoff appearances. | ||
Age of young winners
Golf’s youth movement continued last Sunday when Sei Young Kim won the Blue Bay LPGA in China. She was the seventh winner in the last eight LPGA events age 22 or younger (Kris Tamulis, 34, broke the streak on Aug. 30). The PGA Tour has also joined in on the “kiddie corps” streak in the victory circle, with only 51-year-old Davis Love III halting the weekly trend. Here’s a look:
| Date | Tour/Tournament | Winner | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 16 | LPGA/Cambia Portland Classic | Brooke Henderson | 17 |
| PGA Tour/PGA Championship | Jason Day | 27 | |
| Aug. 23 | LPGA/Canadian Pacific Women’s Open | Lydia Ko | 18 |
| PGA Tour/Wyndham Championship | Davis Love III | 51 | |
| Aug. 30 | LPGA/Yokohama Tire | Kris Tamulis | 34 |
| PGA Tour/The Barclays | Jason Day | 27 | |
| Sept. 7 | PGA Tour/Deutsche Bank Championship | Rickie Fowler | 26 |
| Sept. 13 | LPGA/The Evian Championship | Lydia Ko | 18 |
| Sept. 20 | PGA Tour/BMW Championship | Jason Day | 27 |
| Sept. 27 | PGA Tour/Tour Championship | Jordan Spieth | 22 |
| Oct. 11 | LPGA/Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia | Jessica Korda | 22 |
| Oct. 18 | LPGA KEB-Hana Bank Championship | Lexi Thompson | 20 |
| PGA Tour/Frys.com Open | Emiliano Grillo | 23 | |
| Oct. 25 | LPGA/Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship | Lydia Ko | 18 |
| PGA Tour/Shriners Hospitals Open | Smylie Kaufman | 23 | |
| Nov. 1 | LPGA/Blue Bay LPGA | Sei Young Kim | 22 |
| PGA Tour/CIMB Classic | Justin Thomas | 22 |
Ko honored again
Lydia Ko was honored for the second consecutive year as one of TIME Magazine’s 30 Most Influential Teens. The list was released last Tuesday and assesses “accolades across numerous fields, global impact through social media and overall ability to drive news."
Ko, 18, was the only golfer on the list. Other athletes included Chloe Kim, 15, an American snowboarder; Martin Odegaard, 16, a Norwegian soccer player with Real Madrid; and Katie Ledecky, 18, an American swimmer.
54 holes in Japan
This week’s Toto Japan Classic is a 54-hole, no-cut event that requires players to score low to have a chance at winning. The highest winning score at Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club, the site since 2006, was 11-under par by Stacy Lewis in 2012 and defending champion Mi Hyang Lee, and the average winning score at the course has been 15-under par. Two players in this week’s field are multiple winners – South Korea’s Jiyai Shin (2008 and 2010) and Japan’s Momoko Ueda (2007 and 2011).
Lewis is the only American winner of this tournament since Betsy King won in 1993.
Etc.
With a second last week in China, Stacy Lewis recorded her 14th runner-up finish since June 2013 and the 21st of her career, dating back to a second-place finish at the 2010 Tres Marias Championship in Mexico. Lewis has won 11 times in her career and has placed in the top 10 87 times (47 percent of her career starts). She should feel comfortable this week in Japan where she won in 2012, is a combined 53-under par and has only one round over par in 18 rounds (a 73 in 2009). … This week’s event in Japan will not be televised. … Four of five events have been played on the late-season Asian Swing on the LPGA. Lydia Ko has fared the best with a win (Fubon), a T2 (Sime Darby), a T4 (Hana Bank) and a T8 (Blue Bay).
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