Mi-Hyun Kim
김미현
Kim at the 2009 LPGA Championship
Personal information
NicknamePeanut, Kimmie
Born (1977-01-13) 13 January 1977
Incheon, South Korea
Height5 ft 1 in (155 cm)
Sporting nationality South Korea
ResidenceOrlando, Florida, U.S.
SpouseWon Hee Lee (m. 2008-2012)
Career
CollegeSungkyunkwan University
Turned professional1996
Current tour(s)LPGA Tour (joined 1999)
KLPGA (joined 1996)
Professional wins21
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour8
LPGA of Korea Tour13
Best results in LPGA major championships
Chevron ChampionshipT5: 2005
Women's PGA C'shipT3: 2006
U.S. Women's OpenT4: 2000
du Maurier ClassicT6: 1999
Women's British Open2nd: 2001
Achievements and awards
LPGA Rookie of the Year1999
Korean name
Hangul
김미현
Hanja
金美賢
Revised RomanizationGim Mi-hyeon
McCune–ReischauerKim Mi-hyŏn

Mi-Hyun Kim (Korean: 김미현, born 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 2000. 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.

Background

Born in Incheon, Kim received the nicknamed "Peanut" because she stands only 5 feet 1 inch (155 cm) tall. LPGA golfers also refer to her as "Kimmy." She was inspired to move to the United States by Se Ri Pak, and they along with Grace Park and Hee-Won Han – the four nicknamed the "Seoul Sisters"[1] – are considered pioneers in the surge of outstanding South Korean women's golfers on the LPGA Tour.[2] Her swing is characterized by an unusually long backswing that has become shorter in recent years.

Charitable giving

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.'"[3]

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.[4][5]

Personal

Kim retired from the LPGA Tour after playing several tournaments during the 2011 season.[2] In December 2008 she married Lee Won-hee, a former Olympic gold medalist in judo who now teaches judo at a university in South Korea.[6][7] In 2009 they had a son, Ye Sung Lee, who was born in Orlando, Florida.[6] The couple divorced in 2012.[8]

She currently teaches golf in South Korea. A golf teaching/practice facility built by her father is named the Mi-Hyun Kim Golf World.[1]

Professional wins (19)

LPGA Tour (8)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 6 Sep 1999 State Farm Rail Classic -12 (66-68-70=204) 1 stroke Scotland Janice Moodie
United States Pearl Sinn
2 10 Oct 1999 First Union Betsy King Classic -8 (68-72-70-70=280) 1 stroke United States Beth Daniel
England Helen Dobson
Peru Sweden Jenny Lidback
3 24 Sep 2000 Safeway LPGA Golf Championship -1 (70-73-72=215) Playoff South Korea Jeong Jang
4 21 Jul 2002 Giant Eagle LPGA Classic -14 (65-68-69=202) 1 stroke United States Kelly Robbins
5 4 Aug 2002 Wendy's Championship for Children -8 (68-67-73=208) 1 stroke South Korea Hee-Won Han
6 30 Apr 2006 Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open -12 (70-66-69-71=276) 2 strokes Mexico Lorena Ochoa
Australia Karrie Webb
7 16 Jul 2006 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic -18 (68-66-67-65=266) Playoff United States Natalie Gulbis
8 6 May 2007 SemGroup Championship -3 (71-68-71=210) Playoff United States Juli Inkster

LPGA Tour playoff record (3–3)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2000 Safeway LPGA Golf Championship South Korea Jeong Jang Won with par on second extra hole
2 2000 New Albany Golf Classic Canada Lorie Kane Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3 2001 The Office Depot Sweden Annika Sörenstam Lost to par on first extra hole
4 2001 Kathy Ireland Championship United States Rosie Jones Lost to birdie on first extra hole
5 2006 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic United States Natalie Gulbis Won with birdie on third extra hole
6 2007 SemGroup Championship United States Juli Inkster Won with par on first extra hole

LPGA of Korea Tour wins (13)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 30 Apr 1994 Tomboy Women's Open (as an amateur) 72-74-72=218 +2 2 strokes South Korea Kang Soo-yun (amateur)
2 15 Jul 1995 Fursys Cup Korea Women's Open (as an amateur) 71-71-68=210 −6 2 strokes South Korea Se Ri Pak (amateur)
3 29 Jun 1996 Midopa Women's Open 69-69=138 -6 2 strokes South Korea Song Chae-eun
South Korea Ha Nan-kyung
4 18 Aug 1996 Korea Oil Corporation Invitational 67-74-65=206 −10 2 strokes South Korea Se Ri Pak
5 25 Oct 1996 LG Fashion Cup Korea Women's Open 70-74-72=216 E 2 strokes South Korea Se Ri Pak
6 31 Aug 1997 Korea Oil Corporation Invitational 71-74-68=213 −3 1 stroke South Korea Il Mi Chung
7 7 Sep 1997 FILA Women's Open 73-68-70=211 −10 1 stroke South Korea Gloria Park (amateur)
8 13 Sep 1997 Lacoste SBS Champions 73-75-74=222 +6 3 strokes South Korea Han Ji-yeon
South Korea Seo A-ram
9 9 May 1998 Carnation Women's Open 70-73-67=210 −6 7 strokes South Korea Jeong Jang (amateur)
10 11 Sep 1998 SBS Champions 72-74-74=220 +4 Playoff South Korea Il Mi Chung
11 1 Nov 1998 KLPGA Championship 72-76-71=219 +3 2 strokes South Korea Seo Ji-hyun
12 29 Oct 2000 Sports Seoul Hyundai Securities Women's Open 71-68-68=207 −9 4 strokes England Laura Davies
13 3 Dec 2000 Paradise Women's Open 71-73-63=207 −9 10 strokes South Korea Il Mi Chung

Tournaments in bold denotes major tournaments in KLPGA

Results in LPGA majors

Tournament199819992000
Kraft Nabisco Championship T47
LPGA Championship T26 T12
U.S. Women's Open CUT T4
du Maurier Classic T6 T33
Tournament20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011
Kraft Nabisco Championship T15 T21 T57 7 T5 T42 T30 T6 T48 T56 T33
LPGA Championship 8 T33 T30 T30 T7 T3 T15 T10 CUT T42 T43
U.S. Women's Open T26 T22 T30 T16 T31 T41 T8 T6 CUT
Women's British Open ^ 2 T61 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T24 T31 CUT

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.

  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary

  • Starts – 48
  • Wins – 0
  • 2nd-place finishes – 1
  • 3rd-place finishes – 1
  • Top 3 finishes – 2
  • Top 5 finishes – 4
  • Top 10 finishes – 13
  • Top 25 finishes – 19
  • Missed cuts – 9
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 16
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3

Team appearances

Amateur

References

  1. 1 2 "Mi-Hyun Kim, A Tribute To A Retiring LPGA Star".
  2. 1 2 "Mi Hyun Kim: 'Seoul Sister' takes a final bow". LPGA. October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Kim makes $100,000 donation to aid victims of Greensburg, Kan., tornado". LPGA. 11 May 2007.
  4. ↑ "Mi Hyun Kim's Donation Makes a Difference in Kansas". LPGA. 29 April 2008.
  5. ↑ "Pre Tournament Interviews: SemGroup Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons". LPGA. 29 April 2008.
  6. 1 2 Nichols, Beth Ann (25 March 2010). "Kim learns to balance golf and motherhood". Golfweek.
  7. ↑ "Mi Hyun Kim profile". LPGA. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "이원희 김미현 이혼이유는?...김미현 은퇴 이것때문에". 금강일보 (in Korean). 29 June 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
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