LPGA golfer Christina Kim showed up on The Golf Channel’s the Golf Fix with Michael Breed last week to share a few of her swing tips. She’s gearing up for the new golf season and it starts this week in Thailand as the LPGA kicks off its 2010 season. Before Christina hit a golf ball in Thailand, she IM’d an interview with Golf.com to talk about the off season and the future.
What have you been up to in the offseason?
Everything from working hard on my short game, trying new clubs, partying with friends, traveling to places, and playing around with social media.
You partied a lot. Clubs? House parties?
I didn’t go mad crazy partying all the time. Hahaha!!! Clubs, house parties, a lot of just chillin’ at friends’ places — that’s more accurate.
Let’s talk about the LPGA Tour. What do you see happening this year out there for yourself and the tour?
I see both myself and the LPGA Tour taking over by storm. I’m so stoked for the new season. The LPGA is rising again after a brief lull, and the world is ready for something new to stumble upon.
We’re starting a new series to capture the key news and moments from the previous week. So with that quick and clear description, here we go with our very first WEEK IN REVIEW.
Winner of the Week: Chan Ho Park
Chan Ho Park was the first Korean-born player to play in Major League Baseball and now he gets his chance after 16 years to play in his first World Series. If you didn’t know, and we found out quickly from our readers, Byung Hun “Home Run” Kim was the first Korean-born player to reach the World Series. If you remember, he had a habit of giving up home runs in the 9th inning. Let’s hope that Chan Ho Park represents us better.
Christina Kim is Nude and That’s Better Than a Clothed Grace Park
Christina Kim doesn’t look like Honey Lee (Miss Korea) but she is all athlete and she represented the LPGA in ESPN magazine’s body issue. Our staff discovered this week that if you want to drive traffic quickly to a web site, just insert the word “nude.” Anything naked seems to outperform someone who’s barely naked. Who would’ve thought that Christina would’ve beaten out Grace Park scantily clad on Maxim?!
Yul Kwon got a(nother) Job!
The guy who has career ADD has a new job. Surprise! Yul Kwon of Survivor fame is now working for the FCC, after having done everything from clerking to reality show contestant. If trends hold true, Yul will change jobs in 2 years.
Don’t RAIN on my Parade!
The RAIN man is starring in Ninja Assassin and he better kick some ass with his big Korean-American male cast. Otw, we ain’t getting more acting gigs in Hollywood for a while. The movie is coming out on Thanksgiving.
ESPN finally published their “Body Issue” which shows athletes in their birthday suits. And yes there’s a Korean-American woman who bares it all. She is LPGA golfer Christina Kim, and she’s joined by other fellow golfers Anna Grzebien and Sandra Gal. The “Body Issue” is getting some great reviews because it’s done very artistically and it actually reveals not simply a nude body, but it shows some of the pain and hurt that these athletes have endured. The body is a beautiful thing. If you don’t know Christina Kim, she’s a Korean-American golfer who’s had great success on the LPGA tour. She’s one of the more personable and animated golfers on tour, and she’s willing to share her thoughts. She’s one of the most followed LPGA tour players on Twitter. For a little more on Christina Kim, check out our interview below when we met up with her at a LPGA tour event earlier this summer.
This past weekend in Albany, the golfing season came to a close for the LPGA developmental league, the Duramed Futures Tour. By the end of the ILOVENY Championship, the top ten players on the money list earned their LPGA tour card, which gives them membership to play with the big girls next year. Of the top ten, three were of Korean descent: Misun Cho of Cheongju, South Korea; Song Yi Choi of Seoul, South Korea; and Christine Song of Fullerton, Calif. Many graduates of the Duramed Futures Tour have gone on to very successful careers on the LPGA tour, such as Christina Kim and Angela Park. Lets hope that these three ladies make a big splash next year and continue the trend of Koreans winning on the LPGA tournament.
Cho also was a two-time winner this season. She finished the season ranked third in earnings at $64,118. She looks forward to next year’s LPGA season, when she’ll play against several fellow South Koreans.
“It makes me comfortable that there are so many Korean players out there,” said Cho. “I can relate to them. I’m just going to enjoy myself next year and just keep working hard.”
The bi-annual golf competition between the American women and the European women concluded on Sunday at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois with the American women winning over the Europeans in a very tight match with a 16-12 decision. Michelle Wie and Christina Kim were the two Korean-Americans who led the charge to the American victory. In fact, Michelle Wie posted a 3-0-1 record during the week, which was best of any player who participated in the Solheim Cup. She was a captain’s pick which meant she had not originally qualified for the team but was a special selection for the team. It turned out to be a golden pick because her 3 points contributed signficantly to the win.
Michelle Wie, whose 3-0-1 record was the best of any American this week, grabbed a U.S. flag and held it aloft to cries of “Wheee!” from the crowd. As the last three matches finished, there were shrieks of joy when the next American joined the party, and new rounds of “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
It’s pretty awesome that these two Korean-Americans really represent what it means to be Korean-American. At the closing ceremony, Christina Kim with “USA” painted on her cheecks, embraced Michelle Wie at the end of the singing of the U.S. national anthem. Pretty awesome if you ask us!
This week is the Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois. It’s the biennial trans-Atlantic team matchplay competition among the professional lady golfers and it is considered the premier event in women’s world golf. Think of it as the Ryder Cup for Women. This week, we’ll see a formidable U.S. team which includes two Korean-Americans: Michelle Wie and Christina Kim. Go get’em ladies!
The Solheim Cup features 12 of the top European-born players from the Ladies European Tour (LET) and 12 top American-born players from the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). It was founded in 1990 by Karsten Manufacturing Corporation (KMC), makers of PING golf equipment.
Players from both sides of the Atlantic compete for points in their respective Tour events to earn a coveted place on the team. Played over three days, The Solheim Cup consists of 28 matches – eight foursome matches, eight four-ball matches and 12 singles played on the final day.
Christina Kim
Seven-year LPGA Tour veteran Christina Kim returns to the Solheim Cup this season after narrowly missing the 2007 U.S. Team. Remembered for pumping the crowd up at Crooked Stick in 2005, she has a 2-1-1 overall Solheim Cup record to her name. Kim is a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour, and looks to bring her positive energy back to this year’s U.S. squad. A fan-favorite every time she tees it up, Kim finished tied for third at the 2009 RICOH Women’s British Open and seventh at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first major championship of the year. Her two career victories came at the 2004 Longs Drugs Challenge and at The Mitchell Company LPGA Tournament of Champions in 2005. The 25-year-old has more than $3 million in career earnings and has racked up 35 top-10 finishes since her rookie season in 2003. Prior to becoming a member of the LPGA Tour, Kim earned medalist honors at the 2001 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, where she recorded a career-low 62, for the stroke-play portion of the event.
Michelle Wie
The first LPGA Tour rookie to qualify for the U.S. Solheim Cup team since Paula Creamer in 2005, Michelle Wie used the strength of five top-10 finishes to earn enough points for Captain Beth Daniel to give her the nod as one of two captain’s picks. Wie competed in several match play competitions as an amateur and brings solid experience to the team. During her amateur career, she was the youngest USGA champion in an adult event when she won the 2003 USGA Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the age of 13. One year later, she was a member of the victorious U.S. Curtis Cup team, posting a 2-2 record. She also nearly defended her USGA Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship title, finishing runner-up to Yani Tseng. As one of the LPGA Tour’s top rookies this season, Wie has carded 65 percent of her rounds under par and averages 267 yards off the tee.
She is one of the most colorful LPGA golfers on tour and may have one of the most fun loving personalities. Korean Beacon followed her a bit at last month’s Sybase Classic and it was evident she is one of the best people (man or woman) to play a Pro-Am with because she makes it fun and relaxing for her playing partners. Today is the start of the first round of the LPGA Championship at the Bulle Rock golf course in Maryland. Christina Kim has been chosen by the Golf Channel to be mic’d up during her first round. We would bet that you’ll find more color and personality with Christina Kim than what you would hear from Phil or Tiger. CK puts the fun into golf. And don’t forget, she’s a heckuva golfer.
Christina Kim on Golf Blogger Wei Under Par I’m so thrilled that I’m being given the opportunity to share with my fans and followers what goes through my head as i play a tournament. It’s great for the Tour, and a wonderful way to make people see the real me – Because i’m not sure everyone can read my lips. Lol.
If you’re watching the Golf Channel today, listen for Christina Kim. If you really want to get a good sense of Christina, then follow her on Twitter because she is one of the most prolific tweeters.
Check out the interview we conducted last month with Christina.
Among the many talented LPGA players on tour, there are a few who simply standout and Christina Kim is one of them. We first noticed (or heard) her on the first tee of Wednesday’s ProAm at the Sybase Classic. We could hear her laughing it up with her ProAm partners right before she boomed a drive right down the middle of the fairway. She has to be one of the happiest and engaging players on tour and I bet she’s probably one of the best players to play a round with at a ProAm. Check her out on twitter and you’ll see her personality and stream of consciousness. She’s also one of the most standout dressers and it matches her bold personality on tour. She loves the fans and they obviously love her. Watching her during the tournament, you wish other professional (male) athletes would be so nice and engaging as she was with the fans. We chatted briefly with Christina Kim after her 2nd round at the Sybase for a quick 5. We asked her what her favorite Korean food is to eat and why the Korean players seem shy on tour. Check it out below.
Christina Kim is the best Korean-American golfer who has a big game that goes along with her big personality. She’s one of the most personable and approachable ladies on the LPGA Tour, but don’t call her a traitor. Christina Kim and her lawyers filed a libel lawsuit against the JoongAng Sunday papers in Korea for labeling her a traitor. From the Korea Times…
According to Jeon Sei, the law firm that filed the suit with Seoul Central District Court on behalf of Kim last Friday, the JoongAng printed two articles on Kim in a Dec. 18 2008 edition based on false information.
Kim was reported to have complained to the management of LPGA Hana Bank/KOLON Championship 2008 in Yeongjongdo, Gyeonggi Province, because she was introduced as “Christina Kim from Korea.’’ The paper also said Christina told some press members that her winning the tournament in Korea could be an act of “vengeance.’’
The article further claimed that she has golfed poorly ever since then, and that no Korean sponsor will be willing to support her after all the fuss. “She wouldn’t want to be related to Korea anymore since she knows acting Korean wouldn’t do her any good. There are more compatible players out there, meaning there’s less of a chance for her to grab Korean sponsors anyway’’ it said.
Kim’s attorneys refuted the claim. Lawyer Han Sang-hyeok claimed that Kim made no complaints at the tournament. “She has no harsh feeling about being called Korean because she understands that it means a lot to her family,’’ he said.
Why can’t we all get along? The LA Times points out the growing tensions on the LPGA tour as more and more woman of Korean descent are competing on the tour. This may simply be one of those growing pains that professional sports undergo and the LPGA is not immune. For example, there was a fuss about the growing number of latin born players who now play in Major League Baseball. I believe in diversity but I also recognize the importance of the commercial viability of the LPGA. All of the Korean players must makes a concerted effort to speak English and engage with sponsors and advertisers because those nice checks they pick up will diminish if they don’t make real efforts.
The LA Times article does provide some snapshots into some of the Korean players on the LPGA tour: Inbee Park, Christina Kim, Angela Park, Jiyai Shin, Seon Hwa Lee, Jane Park Read more…
Facebook
