Hee Jeong Lim has a nickname on the KLPGA – “Stone Budda.” Mainly, it’s for her strong resolve and mental “calmness” on the course. It certainly showed after yet another bogey-free round at the BMW Ladies Championship, where she leads the field by four strokes at -11. Holding such a lead has its advantages, said Lim, but also its added pressures.
“I think psychologically and mentally trying to catch up with the lead is more comfortable in a way. And when you're in the lead, everybody is trying to catch up with you. So you have that extra bit of pressure,” said Lim. “But I'm trying not to think too much about it and just going to try to focus on my game tomorrow.”
Lim can accept LPGA Tour Membership should she finish Sunday victorious in Busan, a goal that the 21-year-old has always strived towards. Lim started playing golf at age 8 and won the AJGA’s Se Rei Pak Junior Championship in 2017. She added a silver medal from the 2018 Asian Games to her amateur career as well, eventually turning professional and soaring on the KLPGA. To be able to continue her career on the LPGA Tour would be a dream, but Lim said she doesn’t just want to make a “hasty decision.”
“I think when I started with golf, my ultimate goal was to make it to the LPGA. And I would always see other players who would win the LPGA Tour events and automatically get to go to the LPGA, and I always kind of wanted that route for myself as well,” said Lim. “So I think I have a really good opportunity in front of me. But I always thought that I wanted to build my competency here in Korea and then later, perhaps when I'm more ready, go to the LPGA. But I think I'm ready to grab the opportunity if it presents itself.”
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