| Birdie Kim 김주연 |
|
|---|---|
Kim before 2009 Women's British Open |
|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Birdie Kim |
| Born | 26 August 1981 Iksan, South Korea |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Nationality | South Korea |
| Spouse | Bae Gyu Lee (m.2007) |
| Career | |
| College | Korea University |
| Turned professional | 2000 |
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 2004) |
| Former tour(s) | Futures Tour (2001-2003) |
| Professional wins | 4 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| LPGA Tour | 1 |
| Futures Tour | 3 |
| Best results in LPGA Major Championships (Wins: 1) |
|
| Kraft Nabisco C'ship | T45: 2006 |
| LPGA Championship | T25: 2007 |
| U.S. Women's Open | Won: 2005 |
| Women's British Open | CUT: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 |
Birdie Kim (Korean 김주연) (born Ju-Yun Kim in Iksan on 26 August 1981) is a South Korean golfer. Her career highlight is winning the 2005 U.S. Women's Open at Cherry Hills Country Club. In the last round, she was tied for the lead on the 18th hole. Her second shot found a green-side bunker. She holed out from the bunker to take the lead and ultimately won by two strokes.
Kim won the 1998-99 Korea Junior Championship. She turned professional in November 2000 and joined the Futures Tour, which is the second-tier women's golf tour in the United States, in 2001. Her rookie season on the main LPGA Tour was 2004, and was not successful as she only made three cuts in 20 events, but she retained her tour card by finishing tied 12th at the Qualifying School. She did somewhat better in early 2005, and picked up her first top ten finish that May, but her victory at the U.S. Women's Open was totally unexpected.
She changed her first name to Birdie in 2004, in an effort to distinguish herself from the numerous other Korean golfers named Kim in the women's golf world in the minds of non-Koreans.[1] Six different Kims, including Birdie, currently play on the LPGA Tour.
Kim recently married fellow pro golfer Bae Kyu Lee in December 2007. In 2005, she earned a total of $715,006 and came in 13th for LPGA season money position.
Contents |
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | U.S. Women's Open | +3 (74-72-69-72=287) | 2 strokes | Brittany Lang, Morgan Pressel |
| Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | DNP | DNP | T45 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | DNP |
| LPGA Championship | CUT | 41 | T65 | T25 | CUT | CUT | DNP | CUT |
| U.S. Women's Open | DNP | 1 | CUT | T16 | CUT | CUT | DNP | CUT |
| Women's British Open | DNP | CUT | CUT | CUT | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP |
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for a win. Yellow background for a top-10 finish.