Auston Kim has learned plenty in the early part of her rookie campaign on the LPGA Tour including, after Friday, how to celebrate a hole-in-one.
The 2023 Epson Tour Graduate, who notched 10 top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour last year, including a win at the Epson Tour Championship, aced the par-3 18th at Wilshire Country Club – her ninth hole of the day.
It was her first-ever ace.
"Very cool that I can finally say I have a hole-in-one now," Kim said.
Kim, a Vanderbilt University alum, said she was trying to hit a 128-yard shot that "landed perfectly" in front of the green.
"Bounces a couple times, rolled, and went in. It was awesome," Kim said. "It was really cool."
With a laugh, she said her big-hug celebration with caddie Sarah Bowman was spontaneous and Bowman helped to bring Kim back in focus.
"The next hole (Bowman) was like, 'Oh, you're coming in a little hot there.' I was really excited," Kim said. "I'm really thankful that I could celebrate that shot with her. It was very cool."
Kim shot an even-par 71 in the second round of the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. She's 5-under through 36 holes and tied for 5th – in line for her best-career LPGA Tour finish – but she's seven shots back of Grace Kim, who has opened up a four-shot advantage through two rounds in Hollywood.
Kim started on the back nine, making two bogeys and a birdie before she knocked in her tee shot on No. 18. She made two more bogeys on her first nine before adding another circle on her scorecard on the par-3 7th.
"Putting could have been a little bit better today, but definitely still made a few good putts today. Overall, pretty happy," Kim said.
Kim made her first major championship cut last week at The Chevron Championship, finishing tied for 30th. Her best result of the season came at the LPGA Drive On Championship, her first start of 2024, when she finished tied for sixth.
Kim earned her LPGA Tour card after finishing third on the Epson Tour's Race for the Card last year.
Kim admitted this year has been a "big adjustment" from the Epson Tour season in 2023 but is starting to find her groove.
"I know I've been doing a lot of things pretty well. I've also been doing some things not so well and being able to learn from that every single week. And the Chevron last week was a really good test […] pretty proud of how I played there," Kim said. "Every single day, every single week, I'm just trying to do the right things with discipline and know I'm putting in the hard work.
"Every day if I show up and try my best and let things happen, I'll be fine."
Kim, who was a veracious reader, has begun to read for fun again with her final college semester now long in the rear-view mirror. Currently she's enjoying The Tiger, a fiction tale by John Vaillant about the man-eating beast on the prowl outside a remote village.
There's nothing remote about Hollywood, California. But heading into the weekend at the JM Eagle LA Championship, Kim – thanks to her first hole-in-one – is now hunting those ahead of her on the leaderboard.
Images of an ace 📸 🎞️ ✨ pic.twitter.com/yLFdcPl8sP
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 27, 2024
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