Grace Kim (born 13 December 2000) is an Australian professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She won the TPS Sydney on the ALPG Tour in 2021 and 2022. As an amateur, she won the Australian Girls' Amateur, Australian Women's Amateur and the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.
| Grace Kim | |||
|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Born | 13 December 2000 Sydney, NSW, Australia | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  Australia | ||
| Residence | Sydney, NSW, Australia | ||
| Career | |||
| Turned professional | 2021 | ||
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 2023) WPGA Tour of Australasia | ||
| Former tour(s) | Epson Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 6 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| LPGA Tour | 1 | ||
| ALPG Tour | 2 | ||
| Epson Tour | 1 | ||
| Other | 2 | ||
| Best results in LPGA major championships | |||
| Chevron Championship | CUT: 2023, 2024 | ||
| Women's PGA C'ship | 14th: 2023 | ||
| U.S. Women's Open | T13: 2023 | ||
| Women's British Open | T36: 2023 | ||
| Evian Championship | CUT: 2023 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Career
Kim, raised in Greenacre, New South Wales by Korean-born parents, enjoyed a stellar amateur career and in 2019 reached No. 29 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking to become Australia's highest-ranked female amateur. She amassing a number of titles, including the 2017 Australian Girls' Amateur and the 2018 Annika Invitational Australasia in New Zealand with rounds of 72, 62 and 68 (−16).[1] After back-to-back wins in the NSW Women's Amateur in 2020 and 2021, she triumphed at the 2021 Australian Women's Amateur in Adelaide.[2]
She is a four-time recipient of the Karrie Webb Scholarship, and won an individual gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. She became Australia's second-ever competitor in the Augusta National Women's Amateur.[3]
Kim also played for the Australia National Team, and she won bronze at the 2017 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan. In 2018, she represented Australia at the Espirito Santo Trophy and Queen Sirikit Cup. She won the Patsy Hankins Trophy with the Asia/Pacific team in 2018.
In 2019, she participated in the Korean National Sports Festival, where she shot a 61, including a 28 on the first 9 holes, to comfortably win the international women's gold.[4]
Kim is a member of Avondale Golf Club and was co-captain of the NSW Women's team which defended their crown at the 2019 Australian Interstate Teams Matches. She was awarded Golf NSW's Female Golfer of the Year in 2019.[5]
Kim spent 7.5 months in the United States during 2021 and won two titles on the Women's All-Pro Tour as an amateur.[6] She finished tied 10th at the Prasco Charity Championship and competed in the U.S. Women's Amateur where she lost to semi-finalist Rachel Heck.[7]
Kim won the TPS Sydney on the ALPG Tour in 2021 and again in 2022 after she turned professional late 2021. She rose to 288th in the Women's World Golf Rankings in March 2022. She gained conditional status for the 2022 Epson Tour at LPGA Q-School.[8]
In April 2023, Kim won her first LPGA title winning the Lotte Championship at Hoakalei Country Club. She won on the first playoff hole, beating Yu Liu and Sung Yu-jin with a birdie after both competitors ended up in bunkers on their second shots.[9]
Amateur wins
- 2016 Greg Norman Junior Masters
- 2017 Victorian Junior Masters, Australian Girls' Amateur, South Australia Women's Amateur, Jack Newton International Junior Classic, Tasmanian Women's Amateur
- 2018 Youth Olympic Games – individual, Federal Women's Amateur Open Championship, Dunes Medal, ANNIKA Invitational Australasia
- 2019 Victorian Women's Amateur Championship
- 2020 NSW Women's Amateur, The Avondale Amateur
- 2021 NSW Women's Amateur, Australian Women's Amateur
Source:[2]
Professional wins (6)
LPGA Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up | Winner's share ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 Apr 2023 | Lotte Championship | −12 (71-67-70-68=276) | Playoff |  Yu Liu Sung Yu-jin | 300,000 |
LPGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023 | Lotte Championship | Yu Liu Sung Yu-jin | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2024 | Meijer LPGA Classic |  Lilia Vu Lexi Thompson | Vu won with a birdie on third extra hole |
ALPG Tour wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 Mar 2021 | TPS Sydney (as an amateur) | 67-70=137 | −5 | 2 strokes | Breanna Gill Su-Hyun Oh |
| 2 | 6 Mar 2022 | TPS Sydney | 70-67-65=202 | −11 | 1 stroke | Cassie Porter |
Epson Tour wins (1)
Women's All-Pro Tour wins (2)
- 2021 Oscar Williams Classic, Texarkana Children's Charities Open (as an amateur)[6]
Team appearances
Amateur
- Toyota Junior Golf World Cup (representing Australia): 2017
- Patsy Hankins Trophy (representing Asia/Pacific): 2018 (winners)
- Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Australia): 2018
- Queen Sirikit Cup (representing Australia): 2018
Source:[2]
LPGA Tour career summary
| Year | Tournaments played | Cuts made* | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10s | Best finish | Earnings ($) | Money list rank | Scoring average | Scoring rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | CUT | n/a | n/a | 77.00 | n/a |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | CUT | n/a | n/a | 75.50 | n/a |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | CUT | n/a | n/a | 74.00 | n/a |
| 2021 | Did not play | ||||||||||
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T63 | n/a | n/a | 74.25 | n/a |
| 2023 | 22 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 959,443 | 29 | 70.81 | 37 |
| 2024 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 335,863 | 44 | 71.32 | 42 |
| Totals^ | 34 (2023) | 23 (2023) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1,295,306 | 268 | ||
^ Official as of 16 June 2024[10][11][12]
*Includes matchplay and other tournaments without a cut.
World ranking
Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.
| Year | Ranking | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,228 | [13] |
| 2020 | 961 | [14] |
| 2021 | 646 | [15] |
| 2022 | 181 | [16] |
| 2023 | 76 | [17] |
| 2024 | 69^ | [18] |
^ As of 17 June 2024
References
External links
- Grace Kim at the LPGA Tour official site
- Grace Kim at the Women's World Golf Rankings official site