SEI YOUNG KIM

Those wins came at two of the more important events on the KLPGA calendar. The first win was at the Hanwha Classic, the year's most lucrative event. Kim was 6 shots behind defending champ So Yeon Ryu with 10 holes to play. She then holed out for eagle, beginning an improbable run up the leaderboard. On the 17th, still three shots back, she made a hole-in-one for her second holeout of the round. Ryu bogied the final hole and Kim won in a playoff.

The next event was the year's second Major, the KLPGA Championship. Rookie star In Gee Chun was looking for her second straight Major, and looked in control until a couple of bogies knocked her back to the field. Kim made three late birdies to post a score. Chun needed a birdie to force a playoff but missed a short one, and Kim had her first Major win.

In the end, Kim earned a staggering 670 million won in 2013. She led the money list much of the year before Ha Na Jang rallied and overtook her; thus, Kim finished second. Kim also finished 4th on the scoring average list, and had 7 top tens, three of which were wins. Her three wins tied her (with Jang) for most wins on the KLPGA in 2013.

Kim also came close to winning an LPGA event in 2013. She led much of the back nine at the LPGA's KEB Hana Bank Championship in Korea. But she made bogey on the last hole to drop out of the playoff between Amy Yang and Hee Kyung Seo that Yang eventually won. She thus finished tied for third in her first LPGA event.

Kim had an excellent 2014 on the KLPGA, though not quite as good as her 2013 had been. She had 12 top tens and two wins, and finished 10th on the KLPGA money list with roughly 445 million won earned. Besides the two wins, she also lost in a playoff at the ADT-CAPS to rookie star Min Sun Kim (another top player, Yoon Kyung Heo, was also in the playoff).

Kim also played in five LPGA events in 2014, although she didn't have particularly good results. Included in those five were her first two Majors: the US Women's Open, where she finished tied for 46th, and the Kraft Nabisco, where she finished tied for 61st. At the end of the year, she went to LPGA Q-School and finished tied for 6th, earning a tour card for 2015.

In 2015, she joined a deep field of KLPGA stars who were rookies, including top players Hyo Joo Kim, Kyu Jung Baek and Ha Na Jang, as well as a number of other talented players, including former world #1 amateur Minjee Lee. And amazingly, despite the competition, it was Sei Young Kim who won the Rookie of the Year award!

Kim started her season with a missed cut, but in her second start, she fought her way into a three way playoff. She won on the first playoff hole, beating Korean player Sun Young Yoo and rookie Ariya Jutanugarn at the Pure Silk Bahamas. She followed that up with another top five in Thailand, and a 6th a few weeks later at the Founders Cup.

At the year's first Major, the ANA Inspiration, Sei Young Kim charged to a 54 hole lead, but was not able to hold on and finished fourth. But her disappointment didn't last long. At her next start, the Lotte Championship in Hawaii, she battled into a final round matchup with top Korean gun Inbee Park and another star, IK Kim. After a clutch par save on the 17th hole, she was still tied for the lead with Park, but hit her drive on 18 into the water. Game over? No, because Kim hit her third to the fringe, then chipped in for par to force a playoff. In the first hole of the playoff, she hit a spectacular iron that bounced twice, then landed in the cup for eagle and the win. She played 18 twice on Sunday, and never putted it once! Kim's win, with two holeouts in the final two holes, was one of the most incredible in Korean golf history.

In June, Kim once again found herself in the final group at a Major on Sunday. This time it was the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, and once again she was matched against Inbee Park. But this time, Park got the best of Kim, who faded to solo second. That was still her best Major result, and it established her as the rookie to beat for the rest of the season.

Kim also contended at the Canadian Women's Open, where she missed a birdie putt on the final hole that would have gotten her into a playoff for the title. In October, she collected her third win of the year in China, once again working her magic by chipping in to save par on one hole after hitting her approach into the water.

Kim clinched the Rookie of the Year when Hyo Joo Kim was not able to win in Mexico the following week. Sei Young wound up with over $1.8 million in earnings, putting her fourth on the money list. She was 8th in scoring average, 10th in driving distance, 2nd in birdies made and first in eagles made, and 3rd in the Player of the Year race. It was an astounding year for Sei Young Kim, and set her up to quite possibly make the Olympic team in 2016.

In December, Kim also played at the Kowa Queens Team event. She lost her team match (paired with In Gee Chun), but rolled in her singles match to a huge win.

Sei Young Kim had another monster season in 2016. She added two more LPGA wins to her resume, and qualified for both the International Crown and the Olympics. She struggled at the Olympics, finishing 25th, but was one of the stars on the Korean International Crown team, which finished second to the US.

Kim got her season off to a great start with a near miss at the year's first event, the Pure Silk Bahamas. She finished second there to Hyo Joo Kim. She managed a tie for third in her next start at the Coates, losing to old rival Ha Na Jang. But everything came together for Sei Young in Phoenix at the Founders Cup. She shot a 63, her best LPGA score to date, in the first round, and bettered that with a 62 in the final round for a 27 under total, the lowest score with relation to par a Korean had ever achieved on the LPGA.

Sei Young got her second win of the season at the Meijer Classic. She made bogey on the final hole to drop into a playoff with Spain's Carlotta Ciganda, but kept her playoff record perfect with a fantastic approach shot from the rough to two feet on the playoff hole.

Sei Young also had a runner-up in Canada and a fifth place finish at the Evian Championship among her 9 top tens. Her money total and position was just a little worse than 2015: she earned $1,445,937, which put her in 6th on the money list, the second highest ranked Korean behind In Gee Chun.

Sei Young also played the KLPGA's Mirae Asset Daewoo Classic in September. She just missed out on the playoff, finishing third. In November, Sei Young played on the victorious LPGA team at the ING Champions, contributing a singles win over Ji Hyun Oh and a team win combined with So Yeon Ryu (she lost the other team match teamed with Mi Hyang Lee).

Sei Young had another great year in 2017. She made $1.2 million and finished just outside the top ten on the money list. Her scoring average of 69.91 was her first sub-70 scoring average for a season on the LPGA.

She had a bunch of great tournaments, too. The highlight was her win at the Lorena Ochoa Match Play in Mexico, the 6th of her LPGA career. But she also had several more top fives, including a tie for 4th at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. She also managed a tie for 8th at the US Women's Open and a tie for 6th at the Evian.

Kim also played at the year-ending ING Champions, representing the LPGA team. She won one team match and lost one, and also lost her singles match to Jin Young Ko. The KLPGA won the event for the first time.

Sei Young had another strong season in 2018. She finished 7th on the money list with $1.3 million earned and 9 top tens. She nearly won the Evian Championship, finishing tied for 2nd despite struggling, and finished tied for 4th at the British Women's Open.

But it was her scoring prowess that most amazed in 2018. At the ShopRite Classic, she shot a 10 under par 61 in the second round, one of the lowest scores a Korean has ever achieved. But even that paled before what she did at the Thornberry Creek Classic. That week, she shot an incendiary 31 under par total over 4 rounds; she was 24 under after three. She set a new LPGA record for lowest 54 hole score ever, lowest total strokes in a 72 hole event, and lowest under par total (she broke that record, which she had co-held with Annika Sorenstam previously, by four shots). She also had the most ever under-par holes in a single week: 31 birdies and one eagle. She won the event by 9 shots for her 7th LPGA victory.

2019 was a fantastic year for Sei Young Kim. She won three times during the season, but her final win was the most momentous. It was the CME Group Tour Championship, and the winner would claim $1.5 million, the most money ever for any event in women's golf history. It all came down to the final hole: tied for the lead, Kim drained a winding 25 foot birdie putt to claim the top prize. Clutch!

Earlier in the year, she won at the Mediheal Championship. She found herself in a playoff with surging players Jeongeun Lee6 and Bronte Law, but won on the first playoff hole. This made her 4 for 4 in LPGA playoffs. She also won the Marathon Classic in July. Thus, she now has 10 career wins, fourth most among all Koreans.

Besides the wins, Kim had 7 other top tens, including a 2nd at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open and a tie for 4th in Taiwan. Thanks largely to her $1.5 million windfall, she had her most lucrative season, earning over $2.7 million for the year, second best on tour behind Jin Young Ko, and second best in history for a Korean. She finished the year 5th in the world, having climbed for the moment onto the Olympic Team for 2020.

In 2020, the whole world was rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic. The LPGA and KLPGA tours canceled and postponed many tournaments. After a couple of top tens before the stoppage, Sei Young spent most of the Spring and Summer playing on the KLPGA tour. She played a total of five events in Korea, making top tens in three of them. Her best result came at the Lotte Cantata, where she ended up in a playoff with fellow LPGA star Hyo Joo Kim. Hyo Joo beat her, a rare instance for Sei Young, who has yet to lose a playoff on the LPGA tour. Her money total for the year was 61 million won, but she did not play enough to officially rank on the KLPGA money list.

While in Korea, Kim also teamed with Chella Choi to play a virtual golf match against the Korda sisters. It was broadcast live over YouTube for both continents to enjoy!

Kim then returned to the LPGA and proceeded to have a blockbuster year. In fact, she finished no worse than tie for 20th in nine events played. After an 18th place at the ANA Inspiration, Kim finally had a chance to win her first ever Major at the KPMG, the year's third Major. As she went into the final round, however, she found herself in a dogfight with the formidable Inbee Park, winner of seven Majors previously. They were within a shot or two of each other for most of the day, but Kim turned on the jets on the back nine, making birdies on four of five holes. She won by five shots, compiling the lowest raw score in event history. At last Sei Young Kim had broken the jinx and won a Major!

On a high, Kim put herself into contention again at her next event, the brand new Pelican Women's Championship. Ally McDonald was the closest to her in the third round, practically catching her after making a late hole-in-one. Kim responded by ripping off four straight birdies to re-establish her lead. Kim would go on to win the event, the 12th of her career. This moved her to third on the list of most wins among Korean players, behind just Inbee and Se Ri Pak. She also moved to #2 in the world and closed in on #1 Jin Young Ko.

The two superstars would battle for the title at the year's final event, the CME Group Tour Championship. By Saturday, they were the top two on the leaderboard. At stake was not only the money list title, but also Player of the Year for Sei Young Kim (she needed a 5th place finish or better), and even, possibly, the #1 ranking. On Sunday they were still tied after 11 holes, but then Ko exploded, making birdie after birdie to bury Kim and get the win. Kim still had the consolation of her first Player of the Year award.

Kim finished 2nd on the money list, and had the lowest scoring average ever compiled by a Korean (and the second best in history), 68.69. Alas, she was not eligible for the Vare Trophy, because she did not play enough rounds. The winner of that award, Danielle Kang, was more than a stroke behind Kim in average. Kim led the league in rounds under par, putts per green in regulation, rounds in the 60s, and greens in regulation at 77.62%. It was quite possibly the best season of her illustrious career.

2021 was the first year in Sei Young Kim's LPGA career where she didn't get a win, but she still had a number of great finishes and qualified for the Olympics, where she finished tied for ninth. Among her best results was a tie for second at the Lotte (but she finished 7 shots behind winner Lydia Ko) and a near miss t-2nd at the Pelican, losing in a playoff. She only had two other top tens, one of which was a t-3rd at the ANA Inspiration. But she added nine additional top twenties.

Sei Young continued her up-and-down play in 2022. Once again she did not get a win. She had just five top tens for the year, and struggled with inconsistency all year. Despite that, her record in the Majors was decent: t-17th at the Chevron, 14th at the US Women's Open, t-5th at the KPMG, t-8th at the Evian and 18th at the British. The Evian was probably her best chance to win, but she struggled a lot in the 4th round and wasn't a factor. She wound up 22nd on the money list with a little over a million dollars earned.

Sei Young played one KLPGA event in 2022, the Mediheal, but missed the cut.

Sei Young struggled even more with her game in 2023 than she had in 2022. She only had two top tens all year, and made only $654,000, 42nd on the money list. She missed the cut at three of the year's Majors, with her best result a tie for 13th at the US Women's Open at Pebble Beach. Fortunately she was able to maintain a category 1 status, so with luck she will figure out her issues during the off season and return to her winning ways.