Seoul of the Game: Song-Hee Kim
Song-Hee Kim is a young South Korean in her fourth year on the LPGA Tour. So far, the Korean native hasn’t won an official title leagues, but many think that it’s only a matter of time as she's come close with 12 top ten finishes in 2009. And even though Kim has been one of the most consistent players on the LPGA tour, she has the title of being one of the best golfers to have never won a title.
Since last year, the 5 foot 9, 21 year-old has been working with complete-game coaches Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott. The two coaches, known for their Vision 54 golf schools named after the score, are eager to help Kim take her game to the next level.
"They're always telling me what I need to be thinking on the course," Kim said. "I [tend to] always think about bad things or negative things, so they make me think about more positive or happy things."
Although she is a player ranked in the top ten on the leader board, Kim still hasn’t won an LPGA Tour event. The US Women's Open that ended on July 11th was no different for Kim as the trophy went to 23 year-old American Paula Creamer.
Despite her lack of title, the young player is primarily known by diehard fans in the golf world, as she has been quietly collecting minor victories. In her third event on the Futures tour, the Louisiana Futures Classic, she earned her first win, which made her the youngest professional female golfer to win a professional golf event in the United States. It was at that point that it seemed as though she would join the ranks of rising Korean golf stars, yet she didn’t.
After dominating the Futures Tour with a total of five wins, Kim quickly became one of the players predicted to win Rookie of the Year in 2007. However, that year Kim played poorly, and by the end of the season she had not been able to make a single top twenty finish, much less win a tournament. Her season had ended so badly that she was only able to achieve a conditional status for the 2008 season.
Happily Kim was able to turn things around. From the beginning of the 2008 season until now, Kim has played very consistently on tour. Just a few months into the 2008 season, Kim finally won her first top ten, a second place at the Corona Championship in Mexico, and also earned more money in that one tournament than she had during all of 2007.
Lately Kim has been on a mission to win. She made the top ten in her first eight straight events of the year, has accumulated the second best scoring average in the league this year, and has also placed third in greens in regulation and first in birdies. On top of that, Kim also has the best top ten percentages on tour, is second in rounds under par, and is in the top ten with her putting average.
It goes without saying that Kim is long overdue for a title, and if she has her way in the next LPGA tournament, she won't disappoint any fans. 2010 is surely Kim's year to win, and win big. The greens are waiting for a star to shine.
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