Before the season started, Kim played at the New
South Wales Open on the Australian tour, notching a tie for 6th
finish. This was the same tournament won by 14 year old Korean-New
Zealander Lydia Ko.
Kim has promised that she will donate 10% of all
her winnings to charity, and has done so ever since she turned pro,
even in years when she did not make much money.
Kim played on the KLPGA in 2013. She had a good
year, finishing 25th on the money list with over 155 million won
earned. She had 5 top tens, with the highlight being back-to-back
3rd place finishes at the Nefs Masterpiece and MBN Kim Young Joo
Golf Women's Open.
Kim had another good season in 2014. She finished
17th on the money list with over 220 million won earned. She had
four top tens, her best finish being a runner-up at the Cheju Samdasoo
Masters in the summer.
2015 was a big breakthrough season for Hae Rym Kim.
Although she was not able to win, she collected 12 top tens and
came close to winning several times. Her best finishes were runner
up results in back-to-back events in the fall. At the Pak Se Ri
Invitational, she had the second round lead, but lost by a shot
to budding superstar Sung Hyun Park. The nest week, she played her
first LPGA event, the Hana Bank, and though she faded late, still
finished tied for 36th.
Then came the KLPGA's fourth Major, the KB Star.
Again, Kim played great, grabbing a two shot lead after three rounds.
In the final round, she was paired with KLPGA superstars In Gee
Chun and Jung Min Lee. She managed to hold them off most of the
day, but a bogey on the final hole cost her the title, which went
to Chun.
Kim wound up making 417 million won and finishing
9th on the year's money list.
Kim had an even better 2016 season. She finished
6th on the tour money list with more than 618 million won earned.
Her biggest moment came at the year's last Major, the KB Star Championship,
which she won. She also won the Kyochon Honey Ladies Open in May.
In addition to the two wins, she had a runner up, two thirds, and
10 total top tens.
Kim also played in the ING Champions and the Kowa
Queens representing the KLPGA team. At the ING, Kim lost both team
matches but beat Q Baek in the singles 3 & 1. At the Kowa, Kim
teamed with Seung Hyun Lee to take down Aussies Su Oh and SJ Smith
4 & 3. She also won her singles match against Japan's Shinokawa
3 & 2.
Kim started her 2017 season with a bang by winning
the World Ladies Championship in China; the event is jointly sponsored
by the LET and KLPGA. Not long after that, she played in her sponsor
Lotte's LPGA tournament in Hawaii and scored a respectable tie for
16th.
But Kim saved her best for the KLPGA. She had a
fantastic season, finishing 5th on the money list with over 738
million won earned. She won three tournaments, including the KB
Star Tour Finale, a Major. She earned nine other top tens. At the
end of the year, she played on the KLPGA team at the Kowa Queens,
winning both her team match and singles match in the KLPGA's runner-up
finish at the team event.
She started 2018 at the same torrid pace as 2017,
winning her first KLPGA event of the year, the Kyochon Honey Chicken
Ladies Open. She had only one other top ten after that, and finished
42nd on the money list with 166 million won earned.
Kim also played on the JLPGA tour in 2018. She finished
59th on their money list with less than 20 million yen earned. She
had three top tens during the season; her best finish was a solo
5th.
Kim was back on the KLPGA in 2019. She had a mediocre
season by her standards, finishing 61st on the money list with a
little more than 101 million won earned. Her best finishes were
a pair of 14th places.
In 2020, the world was hit with the Covid19 pandemic.
All sports leagues, including the LPGA and KLPGA, were massively
affected by it; many events were canceled or shifted around the
schedule, and fans were forbidden from attending. Kim's best finish
all year was a 7th at the Korea Women's Open; she also had a pair
of 10th place results. She finished 38th on the money list with
133 million won earned.
In 2021, Hae Rym had a better year, finishing 21st
on the money list with nearly 313 million won earned. She only had
three top tens, but one of those was a win, at the McCol Mona Park
Open in early July.
Hae Rim only made 112 million won in 2022, 77th
on the money list. She had one top ten, an 8th place. However, she
played her first 2023 event in December of 2022 at the Singapore
Open and notched a 6th, better than any other finish that calendar
year.
Hae Rym ended up with a decent year in 2023: she
finished 56th on the money list with 191 million won earned. She
had two top tens for the year.
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