Who Is Sei Young Kim? Everything About the Smiling South-Korean Assassin of LPGA Tour

Kim Sei-Young is a professional golfer from Seoul, South Korea. The 30-year-old golfer plays on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Korea Tour. She bagged five wins in the LPGA of Korea and thrived on the leaderboard 12 times on the LPGA Tour, sealing first place. She had stellar success at the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic with a 31-under-par score. This was a record score in 72 holes, to secure a total of 257.

The Korea-based golfer had her first major triumph in 2020, at the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship in Florida. Sei-Young also received the title of Player of the Year in 2020, which was given by the Golf Writers Association of India. Kim initiated her golfing all by herself, without any golfing lineage from her family. But partly, Se Ri Park, the South Korean golfer, served as her role model. Other than golf, she also finds herself interested in Taekwondo and holds a black belt. Let’s dive more into her career!

Kim Sei-Young is indeed unstoppable 

For a handful of days, Kim Sei-Young carried the disgraceful label of the best player with no major win in the bag. But she finally had a breakthrough when she won the Thornberry Creek Classic in 2018. And this followed her first major win at the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship, which took place in Philadelphia.  

It was an astounding win to surpass Inbee Park, the Olympic Champion. Sei-Young shot 63 in the opening round and created a stellar show for the LPGA audience. Kim even won the 2020 Pelican Championship, which took place at Pelican Golf Club and had a purse of $1.5 million. She won the tournament with a total of 14 under par, three points less than Nelly Korda, who won the same event in 2021 with a score of 17 under par. 

2020 was her peak year as far as her golf form is concerned, and she even disclosed that music helps her concentrate on her game. In an interview with CNN, after her major triumph in the 2020 major, she confessed, “I usually listen to a lot of emotional music and watch funny videos, but during tournaments I tend to listen to and watch stuff that motivates me.” In addition to this, she also said, “I listened to the song ‘Dynamite’ by BTS a lot this time! If I want to calm myself, I listen to IU.”

Kim also has a golf idol whom she has devotedly followed since her early days. As a result, she also wore red trousers as her golf clothing for the final round. “Tiger Woods wore red shirts, so I wanted to copy him, but red trousers worked better than a red shirt!”Hence, it is pretty clear from her statement that the inspiration is none other than the 15x major winner, Tiger Woods. “When I wear them, I play well. So, now people call it my trademark. It feels like I’ve become a character!” said the Korean star player. 

South Korean golfer, Kim Sei-Young’s notable achievements in the LPGA Tour

She won the 2015 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic with a score of 14-under 278. While Sun Young-Yoo was runner’s up, Sei-Young lifted the trophy in the month of February. Going forward in 2015, she had two other wins at the LPGA Lotte Championship, where she defeated Imbee Park, and the Blue Bay LPGA, where she had a score of 70 at the end of the final round. Then in 2016, she won two events, first at the Wildfire Golf Club with a score of 27 under 261 and second at the Meijer LPGA Classic. 

Read More: Kim and Kung lead Blue Bay LPGA after another brutal day

She also defeated Charley Hull at the 2019 CMW Group Tour Championship by one stroke. Also, in the same year, around July before her match at the Tiburon Golf Club-Gold Course, she defeated Lexi Thompson at the Marathon Classic with a score of 22-under par. 

Among all the wins, the most prestigious one remains the one at the Aronimink Golf Club. She claimed her maiden major victory there at the Women’s PGA Championship with five strokes over Inbee Park. 

What do you think of this South Korean LPGA Tour phenom, Sei Young-Kim? Let us know in the comments below. 

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