With 17 worldwide victories, including 12 on the LPGA Tour, Sei Young Kim is one of the most respected and beloved players in women’s golf. That admiration shoots up exponentially when she competes in her native South Korea, site of this week’s BMW Ladies Championship.
And for the 32-year-old veteran to get her first LPGA win in five years in her golf-obsessed home country? Well, they might declare Monday a sporting national holiday.
Kim put herself on the cusp of a massive celebration when she shot 69 on Saturday at Pinebeach Golf Links for a three-round record total of 19-under 197. After opening the tournament with a 62, Kim is four shots up American Yealimi Noh and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka.
Kim figures to be trailed by an enormous gallery during the final round that will be played into the early morning hours on Sunday, East Coast time.
“Yes, really it has been a while since I played golf with this many gallery on the course,” Kim said. “I play in Korea every year but not as much in the last group that I have been playing. It has been really, really good and really feeling so much good energy and happiness, finding really great happiness playing as a golf player.”
It sounds as if Kim has been looking for this kind of boost. This is her 11th year on the LPGA, and her 12 wins came in rapid-fired fashion—all accomplished between her rookie year of 2015 through 2020.
Since then, she has notched 23 top-10 finishes without lifting a trophy. And while earning five top-10s last year and seven this season, she admitted on Saturday that she’s had to change her mindset.
“I really had a very difficult time. Didn't really enjoy golf as much as I thought,” Kim said. “I try to have some kind of goal since last year and really focus on what I'm good at. I think by looking at the past, I was becoming complacent, and maybe that's why I wasn't give such good performance.
“Last year I tried to accept the fact, the reality and tried to make a new start and tried to have the attitude of a rookie even though I'm not a rookie. That is the direction I would like to take for the rest of my golf career until I retire, and since that kind of motivation, I think my performance went up.”
Kim has contended on the weekends numerous times this season, including a trio of third-place finishes.
Because Kim doesn’t have a win this year, she could become the 27th different winner among 26 LPGA events for the season. The streak of different champions was snapped last week when World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul captured the LPGA Shanghai for her second win of the year.
After her round on Saturday, Kim was met with one big surprise. It was from the media that she learned that mentor and fellow Korean Eun Hee Ji had announced she is retiring at the age of 39. Ji is a six-time LPGA champion who last won in the 2022 LPGA Match Play.
Kim was somewhat taken aback—and maybe a bit put off—about not being told by Ji herself.
“Well, I just found out that news from all of you that she made the retirement announce. I thought I was close to her but maybe I wasn't,” Kim said. “Maybe I have to talk to her again. But I thought she was going to continue for a while because she's such a talented player. I mean, Eun Hee has been always a good senior player for us. She always acted as intermediator when I always had a quibble with Hyo Joo [Kim] and Hye-Jin [Choi]. But yes, I have to talk to her.”
Maybe when Ji is pouring champagne over her head on Sunday.
