The Thornberry Creek Classic is all about history. Played at the Oneida Nation, with all of its rich traditions, and in the shadow of Green Bay, where the Packers are one of the most storied sports franchises in the world, this year’s tournament even starts on the Fourth of July, a year after Sei Young Kim made LPGA history there.

In the greatest scoring performance the LPGA has ever seen, Kim shot 31-under-par 257, shattering the mark set by Annika Sorenstam in 2001 by a decisive four strokes. Imagine this: The worst of Kim’s four rounds on Thornberry Creek at Oneida was a 65 as she made 31 birdies and an eagle – playing half of the 72 holes under par.

The only blemish on Kim’s scorecard was a double bogey on the par-3 17^th hole in the second round – but that came after she birdied six of the first seven holes on the back nine. It was reminiscent of when Sorenstam posted 27-under-par 257 at the Standard Register PING in Phoenix, shooting the LPGA’s only 59 in the second round when she birdied the first eight holes and 12 of the first 13.

The record Kim broke was one she already shared with Sorenstam, matching the Hall of Famer’s 27 under total in the 2016 Bank of Hope Founders Cup. This is a woman who knows how to go low. When she gets on a scoring run it is truly something to behold.

”I really feel like unreal,” Kim said after last year’s record-setting performance. “I never thought about 31-under. I feel incredible. It means a lot, because after Founders Cup tie record with Annika, after that I got the new goals. I wish I could break up the record.”

Kim has used her pursuit of goals to quietly pile up an impressive resume. When she won the MEDIHEAL Championship this year it marked the fifth consecutive season the 26-year-old Korean has posted an LPGA victory. And the week before she won the MEDIHEAL, Kim was second in the HUGEL-Air Premia LA Open.

“I keep setting my goal,” Kim said about her remarkable consistency. “That's what I have, a target big important to me. I think that target make me every year consistently win.”

Just before last year’s Thornberry Creek Classic Kim went to the Internet to find inspiration, checking out motivational videos about peak performance. What did she learn?

“Just trust yourself,” she said. “Imagine what you want. I would never thought about it when I was young, about the record. But after I shoot a 27-under to tie record with Annika Sorenstam, I really wanted the record.”

Kim has piled up her impressive record with an all-around solid game, ranking in the top-30 on tour in driving distance, greens in regulation, putts/GIR, scoring, the money list and Race to the CME Globe points There is only one box left on Kim’s To-Do list.

Of the 17 players currently active on tour that have as many or more than her eight career wins, Kim is the only one without a major championship. But it seems to be only a matter of time before she goes on one of her scoring tears at one of the five majors.

In eight of the 25 majors she’s played, Kim has finished in the top eight, with six of those in the top five, including runner-up in the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and last year’s Evian Championship.

“Big goal is win the major tournament,” Kim says about that unchecked box on her list of goals. “I have [eight] wins but there is no major tournament, so I wish I could win the major tournament.”

Kim has reason to be excited about the last two majors of the year as she was T-4 in the 2018 AIG Women’s British Open as well as fifth and T-6 in the two Evian Championships before being second last year.

A back injury early in the season caused Kim to take some time off – fortunately around a gap in the LPGA schedule – and it led her to make some modifications in her swing. After finishing T-15 at the Honda Thailand, she withdrew from the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore, giving her a month off before the Bank of Hope Founders Cup.

“Yes, definitely, I think that's helped,” she said. “Especially spending time with my coach from Korea and spending time with my parents, it's helped me refresh for this game. I think the problem with my back was the way I swung. I've changed that up, I've been feeling good and healthy.”

For the third time, the LPGA makes the trip to the Oneida Nation where Thornberry Creek has established itself as one of the most exciting courses on tour. What fireworks do Kim and the Thornberry Creek Classic have in store for this year? That will play out this holiday week in Wisconsin, a place where history has a way of happening.

Sirak: Sei Young Kim is a Part of the Rich History at Thornberry

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