In Gee Chun’s Wednesday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship got off to a slow start – she forgot her official player credential in a bag that was in her caddie’s possession and was left to talk her way into the locker room at Baltusrol, which initially was not working. Oh well. All ended well when a second security guard emerged, took one look at Chun, and noted, “Oh, she’s the defending champion.”
Chun, so easy going and polite, took it all in stride. Already it has been a great week for her, truthfully. Having won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last year at Congressional, she and other past champions were honored earlier this week at a Pro-Am reception Monday evening inside the same clubhouse. When she looked over at the silver KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Trophy, there was a nice surprise. It was the first time Chun had seen it with her name engraved into it.
“It was good to see the trophy with my name on it because last time was just without my name,” Chun said. “So it means a lot. I'm just really happy to see my name on there. I want to try to lift it again.”
When she won at Congressional last summer, Chun openly addressed some tough times she had endured in golf, helping to advance the conversation on mental health. She knew that by sharing her story, and her struggles, that she could help others.
“It's not just me. Everyone has their own hard time,” Chun said. “I want to make them feel less pressure because I'm going through my hard time and then make the win at the KPMG last year, so I try to help the other players, as well, you can do it. I want to give them the message.”
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