With one shot, Birdie Kim became more than just another journeyman professional on the LPGA Tour clamoring to climb from obscurity.
And that memorable shot came when she holed out from a greenside bunker on the final hole to win the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open Championship. It was a wedge shot that shocked Kim, as well as then LPGA up-and-comers Brittany Lang and Morgan Pressel, who were also in contention that day.
But for the young pro who became the 14th player in LPGA history to make the U.S. Women’s Open her first career win, it was a milestone week by which all others would be compared. And as a former Open champion, it made her appearance in this week’s LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament stand out.
So, what happened to Kim, a player with sparkling iron play and one of the most balanced swing finishes in all of women’s golf? And where has this player been who won 19 tournaments in South Korea as an amateur, three tournaments on the LPGA Futures Tour (using the name Ju Kim), and who has LPGA career earnings of more than $1.2 million?
The answer is she has been recovering from a serious car crash in 2009. The accident smashed the bones in her face and forced her out of golf for half of 2009 and all of 2010. Kim was a passenger in a car that was struck while trying to make a left turn.
“This is my first year back after the wreck,” said Kim, 30, who turned professional in 2000 and qualified for the Futures Tour. “I played OK this season, but I didn’t always finish so well.”
Kim’s first season back to the LPGA after nearly 1½ years was a lesson in patience for the Open champ. In 11 tournaments this year, she missed nine cuts and posted a season-best tie for 56th. She finished No. 142 on this year’s money list, which forced her to go back to Q-school for the first time since 2004.
“That was seven years ago,” said Kim. “That was a long time ago.”
Coupled by the fact that she was making a return to competition after severe facial injuries with an LPGA tournament schedule that gave her only 11 starts, Kim knew it could be a difficult season.
And just to recover from her injuries was a feat without even considering the process of returning to tournament golf. She was in a hospital for more than three months as she recovered from her wounds.
“My face got crushed starting around my eye line,” said Kim, who earned her LPGA Tour card for 2004 by finishing No. 4 on the 2003 Futures Tour’s money list. “I couldn’t eat. I could walk, but only really gently. Basically, all of the bones in my face had to come together – to heal.”
Kim is still bothered by pain in her neck and shoulders, but it’s something she “accepts” and happily rationalizes when she considers what could have happened in the crash.
“No other bones were broken except in my face,” she said. “That’s why I can still play golf.”
And this week at Q-school, where she is tied for 62nd after three rounds at 9-over 225, Kim knows she still has some work to do. But for the South Korean, her expectations going into the weekend are the same as what she had earlier this week before she had even struck her first tee shot.
“I just want to do my best on every shot and to have patience,” she said. “I need to focus on simple things. For the next two days, I need to just hit it, go find it, and then hit it again.”
By Lisa D. Mickey, LPGA senior staff writer
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