Birdie Kim
김주연
Kim before 2009 Women's British Open
Personal information
Full nameBirdie Kim
Born (1981-08-26) 26 August 1981
Iksan, South Korea
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Sporting nationality South Korea
SpouseBae Gyu Lee (m.2007)
Career
CollegeKorea University
Turned professional2000
Current tour(s)LPGA Tour (joined 2004)
Former tour(s)Symetra Tour (2001–03, 2012)
Professional wins4
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour1
Epson Tour3
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 1)
Chevron ChampionshipT45: 2006
Women's PGA C'shipT25: 2007
U.S. Women's OpenWon: 2005
Women's British OpenCUT: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Evian ChampionshipDNP
Medal record
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place1998 BangkokWomen's team

Birdie Kim (Korean 김주연) (born Ju-Yun Kim 26 August 1981, in Iksan) is a South Korean professional 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 with amateurs Morgan Pressel and Brittany Lang. 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] Kim is a common surname in Korea, especially on the LPGA Tour.

In 2005, Kim earned a total of $715,006 and came in 13th for LPGA season money position. She married fellow pro golfer Bae Kyu Lee in December 2007.

A 2009 car accident derailed Kim's career and she had trouble making cuts on the LPGA. In 2012, she played in 12 events on the Symetra Tour, finishing second on the money list. Kim last played an LPGA-sanctioned event in 2015. Like Janet Alex in 1982 and Hilary Lunke in 2003, the U.S. Open was her only LPGA Tour win.

Professional wins

LPGA Tour wins (1)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (1)
Other LPGA Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin
of victory		 Runners-up
1 26 Jun 2005 U.S. Women's Open 74-72-69-72=287 +3 2 strokes United States Brittany Lang
United States Morgan Pressel

Futures Tour wins

  • 2001 Chumash Casino Futures Classic, Southwestern Bell Futures Classic
  • 2003 Bank of Ann Arbor Futures Classic

Major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
2005U.S. Women's Open+3 (74-72-69-72=287)2 strokesUnited States Brittany Lang, United States Morgan Pressel

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015
ANA Inspiration T45 CUT CUT CUT CUT
Women's PGA Championship CUT 41 T65 T25 CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Women's Open 1 CUT T16 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
Women's British Open CUT CUT CUT CUT
The Evian Championship ^

^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

  • Starts – 26
  • Wins – 1
  • 2nd-place finishes – 0
  • 3rd-place finishes – 0
  • Top 3 finishes – 1
  • Top 5 finishes – 1
  • Top 10 finishes – 1
  • Top 25 finishes – 3
  • Missed cuts – 20
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (thrice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Team appearances

Professional

References

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