A Lim Kim has been a shining star in the 2025 season-opening event of the LPGA Tour. The world no. 55 is beating all the odds at the 2025 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions to top the leaderboard. After 3 rounds of play, Kim has managed to go 15-under par 201, having played 3 fewer strokes than the field. This is a tournament where fans expected the likes of Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, and Rose Zhang to dominate. However, no one would mind watching A Lim Kim rise to the occasion and possibly win the tournament on Sunday.

For those who have seen Kim play, they know that she is not unfamiliar with winning. But what the fans might not know is where A Lim Kim was raised. So let’s explore the background and journey of the 29-year-old.

Is A Lim Kim from the USA?

Back in 2020, A Lim Kim hadn’t even received her LPGA Tour card when she won the first tournament of her career. And that was no ordinary tournament as well. Making her debut in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open, Kim faced the challenge of some of the biggest names on the Tour.

The field included the likes of Inbee Park, Jin Young Ko, Danielle Kang, Charley Hull, and Lexi Thompson fighting for the major title. With so many great talents on the field, not many were concerned about the rookie A Lim Kim. However, she shocked the world on December 14, 2020, when she beat all of the above-mentioned names, Nelly Korda, Rose Zhang, Lydia Ko, and more to capture the title. Kim has also won the 2024 LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei to qualify for the Tournament of Champions in 2025.

And winning the U.S. Women’s Open wasn’t a patriotic achievement for Kim since she is not originally from the USA. A Lim Kim is actually from the Republic of Korea. She was born in South Korea on October 4, 1995. She completed her schooling at Hanseo High School and Yangdong Middle School. Kim continued her education at Yong In University. However, there isn’t much information about her qualifications available online. What we do know is that Kim started her career playing in the KLPGA Tour long before she received her LPGA Card in 2021.

That’s all that there is about A Lim Kim’s background. Now let’s see what she has been up to recently.

Moving away from South Korea

A Lim Kim has made the long journey from South Korea to the US. According to reports, she currently lives in Orlando, Florida. Kim seems to have picked up the American way of life as per her Instagram. Being a full-time LPGA Tour player, the 2x LPGA Tour winner has had the opportunity to travel the country often. So watching her in a complete football getup on Instagram doesn’t come as a big surprise.

Kim’s bright personality resonates through her Instagram posts as she is often seen smiling from ear to ear in every picture. And why wouldn’t she when she gets to visit some of the best and most beautiful golf courses in the world and also Disney Land? Yes, one of her posts includes her adventures at Disney Land at the beginning of 2025. She also seems to be a foodie as she shared a video of a Korean BBQ place that she misses from back home. Apart from this, all of Kim’s posts are mostly about her drives and putts on the course.

Now that you know a bit more about A Lim Kim, will you be supporting her in the final round of the HGV Tournament of Champions 2025? Share your views in the comments section.