LPGA Tour Player Christina Kim is Groovin'!
With her vivid wardrobe and animated play, Christina Kim is the hip poster child of a more contemporary LPGA and a charismatic player who charms galleries.
She radiates joy and confidence whether joking with fellow competitors on the fairway or chatting up autograph seekers behind the 18th hole.
This year, Her bag is colored in daisies. Head covers include a fuzzy red heart, droopy-ear dog and a purple octopus.
Funky aptly describes her new putter, the Groove Tube, with its clear grip and an elevated blade that produces a three-dimensional sightline.
'It's just like me — big and colorful,' Kim says, fearless about her look and game entering the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen Country Club in Edina.
The Groove Tube has helped Kim putt more efficiently and enjoy her most productive season on tour in three years.
She has six top-10 finishes and ranks 15th on the LPGA Tour money list. Kim, whose last victory was in 2005, is eager to contend for a major championship after reshaping her game and identity.
'I feel like I found myself this season. A lot of people had me branded as a loud, really excitable, emotional player,' she said.
'It's funny, but I really do feel that's how I am now. I feel like I fit in my skin, whereas before I was trying to figure out who I was and fit into a certain type of archetype. I'm me and I'm just happy being me.'
It is easy to pigeonhole Kim, 24, as a brash scene-stealer in a sport defined by stoicism and country club etiquette. Kim has told naughty jokes to players between shots, chest bumped her caddie and worn temporary American flag tattoos on her cheeks during the 2005 Solheim Cup, the biennial international tournament.
She shares fist pumps and high fives with competitors and fans and has showered champagne over tournament winners.
Her exuberance was on display this month during the first round of the LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock outside Baltimore. On the eighth hole, she rolled in a tricky 20-foot putt for birdie after driving into a fairway bunker.
"Go! ... Go! ... Yeah!" Kim screeched as the ball snaked into the cup, whipping the fans behind the green into equal frenzy.
And there is her look.
No khaki or unshapely polo shirts for Kim, who is partial to bold colors and form-fitting outfits. Braids tumble out from under both sides of her signature Kangol hat.
After shedding more than 30 pounds two years ago, Kim hooked up with LIJA clothing founder Linda Hipp to design a wardrobe that matches her personality.
"Christina has a very unique way of styling herself, and people really enjoy it," Hipp said. "She is your average person. Not everybody can be 6 feet tall, slim and gorgeous. At the same time, she's committed to a healthier lifestyle, which is what our company's all about. She's the perfect fit."
Kim is the most visible and usually the most outspoken of the 25-and-under crop of American players redefining the image and energy of the LPGA Tour with their unique style, according to LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens.
Natalie Gulbis recently starred in her own reality series on the Golf Channel and released a pinup calendar that included striking photos of her in a swimsuit.
Morgan Pressel, a feisty 20-year-old with a major championship already on her resume, talks high fashion as much as low rounds and is rarely seen off the course without her Blackberry.
Paula Creamer, the best U.S. player on tour this year, is nicknamed the Pink Panther because of her passion for the color. Tiger Woods plays in a red shirt every Sunday. Creamer plays a pink ball in the final round.
"I think the LPGA, maybe more so than the PGA, is cool," said LPGA veteran Betsy King, a 34-time champion. "You have these young 18- to-25-year-olds who are very fashionable. They want to play well. They want to look good while they're doing it."
King believes chic is good for the tour.
"I think they're bringing in newer fans to the LPGA. I've seen a lot of teenage guys waiting around for Natalie Gulbis and Paula Creamer. Lorena (Ochoa) brings a whole other audience," she said. "We have strong Asian players. I think the LPGA reaches out to a bigger fan base from all over the world and all different age groups."
BACK ON TRACK
Kim, a San Jose, Calif., native of Korean descent, started golfing at age 11 under the tutelage of father and coach, Man Kim. As a 17-year-old junior, she fired a 62 (8 under par) at the 2001 U.S. Girls Junior Championship before joining the LPGA Tour in 2003.
Kim won her second tour event at the 2005 Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions to become the youngest player in LPGA Tour history to earn $1 million. Later that year she helped the United States win the Solheim Cup.
Spotty play over the next two years cost Kim a chance to compete at the '07 Solheim, a missed opportunity that motivated her to refocus this year.
"Christina bleeds red, white and blue as much as anybody out there," said Dottie Pepper, LPGA analyst for the Golf Channel and NBC Sports. "She's got a game. She's got the fire I think in her belly after being left off the Solheim Cup team a year ago, to come out and improve a whole lot this year."
Kim finished tied for sixth at the Wegmans LPGA last week in central New York but has missed the cut at the season's two majors — the Kraft Nabisco and LPGA Championship. Despite those setbacks, she says she is playing smarter, more consistent golf that has her poised to contend for her first major.
"Absolutely. This time last year was one of those fluke things — 'Ok, I'll shoot 8 under and then 3 over.' I'm happy where I am," she said. "I don't feel like I have to try so hard is another way to put it. Everything's fitting in more seamlessly."