Sei Young Kim

She began playing golf at 11 years old and credits her uncle introducing her to the sport. When she's not playing golf, Sei Young enjoys participating in taekwondo. She says her most memorable golf experience is when she was down six strokes with 10 holes to play at the Hanhwa Classics in 2013 and made an eagle on the ninth hole and a hole-in-one on the 17th hole to force a playoff, which she then went on to win.
2013 is the year Sei Young burst onto the scene on the KLPGA. She registered multiple victories, including the 2013 LotteMart Ladies Open, the 2013 Hanhwa Classic (which she came from six strokes back with 10 holes to play), and the 2013 KLPGA Players Championship. Kim was also awarded the KLPGA Popularity Award and finished 2nd on the money list that year.
2014 Notes: She made three cuts in five starts on the LPGA Tour, including a T-46th at the U.S. Women's Open and a T-61st at the ANA Inspiration. She won twice on the Korean LPGA (Woori Investment & Securities Ladies Championship, MBN Ladies Open with ONOFF) and was 10th on the money list. She led the Korean LPGA in driving distance for the second straight year. She finished T-6th at LPGA Q school to earn her LPGA card for 2015.
2015 Notes: She joined the LPGA Tour because she felt it would help her make the 2016 Korean Olympic team. She made the best of it, playing in 27 events and making 25 cuts. She finished 4th on the money list and 6th in the CME points. She won three times and had 11 top-10 finishes, which got her LPGA Rookie of the Year honors. She won the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic for her first LPGA victory in her eighth start. She shot 14-under 278 to tie Ariya Jutanugarn and Sun Young Yoo and then made a birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win. She won for a second time in incredible fashion, holing out from 154 yards for an eagle on the first playoff hole at the LOTTE Championship to beat Inbee Park. They had tied at 11-under 277 when Kim chipped in from the fringe on the 18th hole to tie. She also finished 2nd at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, five shots back of winner Inbee Park, and T-4th at the ANA Inspiration, 2 back of the Lincicome-Lewis playoff. She won her third LPGA title of 2015 at the Blue Bay LPGA in China, making a seven-foot birdie putt on the last hole to finish at two-under 286 and beat Kim Kaufman, Stacy Lewis, and Candie Kung by one stroke.
2016 Notes: Played in 25 LPGA events, making 21 cuts and finishing in the top ten 9 times. She started her year T-2nd at the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic in defense of her 2015 title, finishing two back of winner Hyo Joo Kim. A week later, she was T-3rd at the COATES Golf Championship, 3 back of winner Ha Na Hang. She won the Founders Cup, matching Annika Sorenstam's 72-hole LPGA scoring record of 27 under (261), closing with a 10-under 62 at Desert Ridge for a five-shot victory over Lydia Ko. She also won the Meijer LPGA Classic for her second victory of the year, beating Carlota Ciganda with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff. It was Kim's fifth win since the start of the 2015 season. Had her 2nd runner-up finish at the Canadian Pacific Women's Open. Was 6th on the money list with $1,445,937 and 6th in the CME points. She was T-25th at the Rio Olympics as a member of the Republic of Korea's women's golf team.
2017 Notes: Played in 25 LPGA events, making the cut 22 times. Had 8 top top-ten finishes, including a win at the Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Match Play, beating Ariya Jutanugarn, 1 up, in the final match. Kim won the first 3 holes and never trailed after that.
She placed third at the Honda LPGA Thailand, seven back of the winner Amy Yang. She also placed third at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic, finished T-4th at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, and placed T-5th at the Kingsmill Championship. For the year, she was 10th on the money list.
2018 Notes: Played in 27 LPGA Tour events, making 24 cuts with nine top-10 finishes. She won the Thornberry Creek Classic, shooting 31-under 257 to set Tour marks for the best 72-hole score to par and best 72-hole aggregate score. Kim had rounds of 63-65-64-65 and hit 67 of 72 greens in regulation. She was T-2nd at the Evian Championship, a shot back of winner Angela Stanford. Had a second runner-up of the year with a T-2nd at the Buick LPGA Shanghai, 2 shots back of winner Danielle Kang. She was 4th at the ShopRite Classic and shot 61 in the second round to set a course record at Stockton Seaview Resort & GC (which was tied in the final round by Sakura Yokomine). Kim was 3 shots back of the winner, Annie Park. Also, T-4th at the VOA LPGA Texas Classic and the Ricoh Women's British Open. She won $1,369,418 for the year, ranking 7th, and was 5 in the Race to CME.
2019 Notes: Played in 26 LPGA Tour events, making 23 cuts with ten top-ten finishes. She was 2nd on the money list with $2,753,099 in earnings and finished 7th on the CME points list. She was 2nd in the Hugel Air Premia LA Open, finishing four shots back of the winner, Minjee Lee. The next week, the LPGA Mediheal Championship beat Bronte Law and Jeongeun Lee6 with a birdie on the first playoff hole. Two months later won the Marathon Classic by two shots over Lexi Thompson. She finished the year on a hot streak. Started with a T-8th at the Volunteers of America Classic, was 6th at the Buick LPGA Shanghai, T-9th at the BMW Ladies Championship, and T-4th at the Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA. Kim won the season's last event at the CME Group Tour Championship, a shot better than Charley Hull.
2020 Notes: Played in 9 LPGA Tour events, making nine cuts with six top-ten finishes. She was 2nd on the money list with $1,416,993 in earnings and finished 3rd on the CME points list. Was T-7th at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, 5th at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, and T-5th at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. During the break, COVID-19 returned to Korea and she played in four Korean LPGA events; her best finish was T-4th at the Korea Women's Open. Won her first major at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, shooting 63 to win by five shots over Inbee Park. Her 266 winning score was the lowest in championship history, and she became the 4th person to shoot 63 in the final round of a major to win. Joined Johnny Miller in the 1973 U.S. Open, Lydia Ko in the 2015 Evian, and Henrik Stenson in the 2016 Open Championship. Won the Pelican Women's Open by three shots over Ally Ewing. Finished the season with a T-2nd at the CME Group Tour Championship, five shots back of the winner Jin Young Ko. With the $209,555 won, she went over the $10 million in LPGA Tour earnings. It was the fourth time since joining the LPGA Tour that she had a multi-win season. She was also the Rolex Player of the Year.
2021 Notes: Played in 20 LPGA events, making 19 cuts with four top-ten finishes. She was 17th on the money list with $915,658 and 11th in CME points.
Shot a final-round 65 to finish T-3rd at the ANA Inspiration. Her next event was T-2nd at the LOTTE Championship, seven shots back of the winner, Lydia Ko. She was T-7th at the Pure Silk Championship. She qualified to play in the Tokyo Olympics with South Korea's Women's team and finished T-9th. Late in the season, she finished T-2nd at the Pelican Women's Championship, losing a four-way playoff to Nelly Korda.
2022 Notes: Played in 20 LPGA Tour events, making 17 cuts with five top-ten finishes. She was 22nd on the money list with $1,083,246 in earnings and was 37th in CME points. Finished T-6th at the DIO Implant LA Open, T-5th at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, four shots behind winner In Gee Chun, T-8th at the Amundi Evian Championship, and T-9th at the CP Women's Open. She was 7th at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship and finished the year with a T-25th finish at the CME Group Tour Championship.
2023 Notes: Played in 22 LPGA Tour events, making 16 cuts with two top-ten finishes. She was 42nd on the money list with $654,240 in earnings and was 46th in CME points. She was T-4th in the CPKC Women's Open, three shots back of winner Megan Khang. Finished T-3rd at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, four shots back of the winner, Hae Ran Ryu. Finished T-23rd at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.
2024 Notes: Played in 24 LPGA Tour events, making 19 cuts with five top-ten finishes. She was 29th on the money list with $1,103,986 in earnings and was 21st in CME points. Shot a final round 65 to finish T-3rd at the Honda LPGA Thailand, 3 shots back of the winner Patty Tavatanakit. She was T-3rd in the T-Mobile Match Play, losing in the semifinals to Leona Maguire, 3 & 2. Was T-7th at the Mizuho Americas Open. Shot a final round 63 to finish 3rd at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. She was a shot out of the Jasmine Suwannapura/Lucy Li playoff. Was T-2nd at the Buick LPGA Shanghai, six shots back of the winner Ruoning Yin. Was T-30th at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.
2025 Notes: Finished T-9th at the T-Mobile Match Play; she lost in the round of 16 to Lauren Coughlin, 2 up. Kim finished 3rd in the ShopRite Classic, three shots back of the winner, Jennifer Kupcho. Kim shot a final-round 65 (with a hole-in-one on the 17th hole) to take the clubhouse lead, before she eventually finished third. Was T-6th at the Dow Championship with partner Auston Kim. Finished T-3rd at the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open, seven shots back of the winner Lottie Woad.