| Mi Hyun Kim 김미현 |
|
|---|---|
Kim at the 2009 LPGA Championship |
|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | Peanut, Kimmie |
| Born | 13 January 1977 Incheon, South Korea |
| Height | 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) |
| Nationality | South Korea |
| Residence | Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
| Spouse | Won Hee Lee (m. 2008) |
| Career | |
| College | Sungkyunkwan University |
| Turned professional | 1996 |
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 1999) KLPGA (joined 1996) |
| Professional wins | 19 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| LPGA Tour | 8 |
| LPGA of Korea Tour | 11 |
| Best results in LPGA Major Championships |
|
| Kraft Nabisco C'ship | T5: 2005 |
| LPGA Championship | T3: 2006 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T4: 2000 |
| du Maurier Classic | T6: 1999 |
| Women's British Open | 2nd: 2001 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| LPGA Rookie of the Year | 1999 |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 김미현 |
| Hanja | 金美賢 |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Mi-hyeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Mi-hyŏn |
Mi-Hyun Kim (Korean: 김미현, born in Incheon on 13 January 1977) is a professional golfer from South Korea. She turned professional in 1996 and won 11 events on the LPGA of Korea Tour (KLPGA) between 1996 and 1999. In 1999, she joined the LPGA Tour and was named was Rookie of the Year that year. She has won eight LPGA events with her best finish in a major championship second place at the 2001 Women's British Open.
Kim has been given the nickname "Peanut" because she stands only 5 foot 1 inches. LPGA golfers also refer to her as "Kimmy." Kim was inspired to come to the United States by Se Ri Pak. Her swing is characterized by an unusually long backswing that has become shorter in recent years.
Contents |
In May 2007, Kim donated $100,000 of her $210,000 prize money from winning the SemGroup Championship to victims of a recent tornado that severely damaged the town of Greensburg, Kansas. The tornado occurred during the SemGroup tournament.
Kim did not have any connection to Greensburg or any of its residents. Commenting on her donation, she said, "Honestly, I made a lot of money in the United States on the LPGA Tour. Most of time, I get the money here and donate to South Korea. But, I want to help people here, too. The win was a surprise for me and I think God gave it to me like a special present or he is using me like, 'okay, I give you this, but after that you give to help the people.'"[1]
A year later on the eve on the 2008 SemGroup Championship, the president of the United Way of the Plains in Wichita, Kansas appeared with Kim at the pre-tournament press conference to publicly thank her and announce that the publicity surrounding Kim's donation had spurred further donations totaling $1.2 million and that money is being used to build 25 homes for low- and moderate-income individuals displaced by the tornado.[2] [3]
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 Sep 1999 | State Farm Rail Classic | -12 (66-68-70=204) | 1 stroke | Janice Moodie, Pearl Sinn |
| 2 | 10 Oct 1999 | First Union Betsy King Classic | -8 (68-72-70-70=280) | 1 stroke | Beth Daniel, Helen Dobson, Jenny Lidback |
| 3 | 24 Sep 2000 | Safeway LPGA Golf Championship | -1 (70-73-72=215) | Playoff | Jeong Jang |
| 4 | 21 Jul 2002 | Giant Eagle LPGA Classic | -14 (65-68-69=202) | 1 stroke | Kelly Robbins |
| 5 | 4 Aug 2002 | Wendy's Championship for Children | -8 (68-67-73=208) | 1 stroke | Hee-Won Han |
| 6 | 30 Apr 2006 | Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open | -12 (70-66-69-71=276) | 2 strokes | Lorena Ochoa, Karrie Webb |
| 7 | 16 Jul 2006 | Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic | -18 (68-66-67-65=266) | Playoff | Natalie Gulbis |
| 8 | 6 May 2007 | SemGroup Championship | -3 (71-68-71=210) | Playoff | Juli Inkster |
LPGA Tour playoff record (3-3)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2000 | Safeway LPGA Golf Championship | Jeong Jang | Won with par on second extra hole |
| 2 | 2000 | New Albany Golf Classic | Lori Kane | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 2001 | The Office Depot | Annika Sörenstam | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2001 | Kathy Ireland Championship | Rosie Jones | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 5 | 2006 | Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic | Natalie Gulbis | Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 6 | 2007 | SemGroup Championship | Juli Inkster | Won with par on first extra hole |
| Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | DNP | DNP | T47 |
| LPGA Championship | DNP | T26 | T12 |
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT | DNP | T4 |
| du Maurier Classic | DNP | T6 | T33 |
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T15 | T21 | T57 | 7 | T5 | T42 | T30 | T6 | T48 |
| LPGA Championship | 8 | T33 | T30 | T30 | T7 | T3 | T15 | T10 | CUT |
| U.S. Women's Open | T26 | T22 | T30 | T16 | T31 | T41 | T8 | T6 | DNP |
| Women's British Open ^ | 2 | T61 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | T24 | DNP |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T56 | T33 |
| LPGA Championship | T42 | T43 |
| U.S. Women's Open | DNP | CUT |
| Women's British Open | T31 | CUT |
^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" tied
Green background for a win. Yellow background for a top-10 finish.