Hyo Joo Kim

As a 14-year-old amateur in 2009, Kim played well at two KLPGA major championships. At the Hite Cup, she was one of the leaders after the first round and was 5th as late as the start of the fourth round. At that point, she stumbled somewhat but still finished T-13th. At the KB Star Tour Grand Final, she was again in the top five after the first round but ended up T-34th.
In 2010, she led Korea to a victory at the Queen Sirikit Cup. She also won individual honors thanks to a final-round 65. She was eight shots ahead of the next player in the field. Later in the year, she finished T-3rd at the Rush & Cash Charity Classic on the KLPGA tour.
In July of 2010, she won the R&A Junior Open Girls golf title in Fife, Scotland, by three shots; Korean New Zealander Cecilia Cho was third.
In 2011, she was again on Korea's squad for the Queen Sirikit Cup. She finished 2nd, one shot out of the gold-medal spot, but Korea won the team gold by four shots. Later in the year, she achieved a major coup by claiming the Callaway Junior World Golf Championship, winning the 15-17-year-old division by five shots.
On the Korean LPGA tour in 2011, she finished T-5th at the Woori Investment & Securities Ladies Championship. She led the Korean Women's Open after the first and second rounds, but a poor weekend reduced her to 15th. She also had a 9th at the Lotte Mart Women's Open and a T-20th at the Hite Cup, the year's third major. At the end of 2011, Kim triumphed at the Junior Orange Bowl in Florida, making a birdie on the last hole to secure the title.
2012 Notes: At the first KLPGA event, the Lotte Mart Women's Open. Kim got off to a hot start, shooting a 66 to take a share of the first-round lead. She shot the best round of the day on Friday as well, a 67, and had a seven-stroke lead by day's end. By the middle of Saturday, she had built her lead to 10 but then fell back to a six-stroke lead by day's end. She finished the week with another 66, topping a field of top KLPGA pros with ease. She had a nine-shot win over second-place Hyun Hee Moon, 13 strokes over KLPGA Player of the Year Ha Neul Kim, who finished 3rd. Only Se Ri Pak had ever had a more dominating KLPGA win while still an amateur. A few months later, she played her first JLPGA event, the Suntory Ladies Open. Trailing by four going into the final round, she shot a final-round 61, the lowest score ever shot on the Japanese tour, to claim a four-shot win. She became the youngest winner, at 16, in JLPGA history, breaking the record once held by Japanese legend Ai Miyazato. Her wins in Korea and Japan started a bidding war among sponsors, all eager to become her main sponsor whenever she turned pro.
Kim had brilliant results on the LPGA in 2012 as well. The week after her win in Korea, she played Lotte's LPGA event and finished 12th. She had top-25 finishes at two other LPGA events. But it was the remaining event she played that was truly special. Invited to the Evian Masters, Kim contended all week and had a shot at winning even with just a few holes to go, she finished T-4th, She would go on to win another pro event in Taiwan for her third professional win as an amateur in less than six months.
Kim was the medalist in stroke play at the 2012 U.S. Women's Amateur but lost in the second round of match play. Her final amateur event was the Women's World Amateur Team Championship, where she led Korea to repeat the team title and finished 4th in the individual rankings. Kim then turned pro in October and signed a deal with Lotte, the company whose event she had won back in April.
2013 Notes: She finished 13th at the Swinging Skirts. The following week, she dueled with two-time champion Hye Youn Kim at the Hyundai China Ladies Open, capturing the title when Kim double-bogeyed the final hole. It had taken Kim just two events as a KLPGA member (just two months after turning pro) to notch her first win, the fastest a player had ever gotten a KLPGA win after turning pro in the tour's history. As expected, Hyo Joo had a fantastic rookie year on the KLPGA tour. As it turned out, she had a massive battle for Rookie of the Year with another talented teen, In Gee Chun, but in the end, Kim prevailed. She also won the title for lowest scoring average in 2013, finishing 4th on the money list and 2nd in the Player of the Year contest. She notched 14 top 10s and an additional six top 20s while missing just one cut and wound up making 464 million won ($417,756). Besides her win, her best finishes were a T-2nd just a shot behind Mirim Lee at the KG Edaily Ladies Open, a runner-up to Bo Kyung Kim at the E1 Charity Open, a final round tussle with In Gee Chun (which Chun won) at the Korean Women's Open (Hyo Joo finished 6th), another runner-up to Ha Neul Kim at the MBN Kim Young Joo Golf Women's Open, a 4th at the year's second major, the KLPGA Championship, and a 3rd at the year's 4th major. In addition, Kim also was tied for the Player of the Year award with one event to go but finished just one shot behind Ha Na Jang in that final event to lose that award by the barest of margins.
Kim also played two LPGA events in 2013. The better result came at her sponsor's tournament, the Lotte Championship. Paired with fellow teen sensations Ariya Jutanugarn and Lydia Ko, Kim played really well. She climbed fairly high after three rounds before a disappointing final round left her tied with Ko in 9th place.
2014 Notes: Kim had seven worldwide wins in 2014, including the Evian Championship at age 19 in her ninth LPGA start. She won the 2014 Korean LPGA Tour five times, including the Korean Women's Open. She was the Tour's money leader and player of the year. In December, she added a win at the Hyundai China Women's Open, the first event on the 2015 Korean LPGA Tour. Not an LPGA member in 2014, she finished in the top 10 in all four of her LPGA starts. She shot 61 in the first round of the Evian Championship' the lowest round in major championship history, and made a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole of the tournament to win by one shot over Karrie Webb. Kim became the third-youngest major champion in LPGA history at 19 years and 2 months. Morgan Pressel at 18 years, 10 months, and nine days at 2007 ANA Inspiration and Lexi Thompson (19 years, one month, 27 days) at 2014 ANA Inspiration were younger. The win came in her ninth career appearance on the LPGA. She was tied for the lead at the Lotte Championship midway through the final round but made bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17 to finish 4th with a Sunday 71-278, four shots back of winner Michelle Wie.
2015 Notes: She won the JTBC Founders Cup for her second LPGA win in her 13th career start. Kim shot 21-under 267 for a three-shot win over Stacy Lewis. Kim was tied with Ilhee Lee with 8 holes remaining and then made birdies on holes 11-13 Sunday to take the lead for good. She joined the LPGA full-time in 2015 after winning the 2014 Evian Championship and finished 13th on the money list and 15th in CME points in her first year on Tour. She made 22 cuts in 24 starts and had nine top-10s.
2016 Notes: Played in 27 events and made 23 cuts. She had 6 top-10 finishes and won the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, shooting 18-under 274 for her third LPGA victory. Kim made birdies on holes 12-14 Sunday to take a three-shot lead and eventually beat Anna Nordqvist, Sei Young Kim, and Stacy Lewis by two. She was 20th on the money list with $753,638 and 20th in CME points. She was T-3rd at the Fubon Taiwan LPGA Championship and ended the year by winning the Hyundai China Ladies Open.
2017 Notes: Played in 22 LPGA events making 18 cuts. She had 4 top-10 finishes, season-best was T-7th at the Meijer LPGA Classic and Ricoh Women's British Open. Finished 38th on the money list.
2018 Notes: Played in 22 LPGA Tour events making 18 cuts with one top-ten finish. Kim was 2nd at the U.S. Women's Open, losing on the fourth hole of a playoff to Ariya Jutanugarn. Kim shot a final-round 67 to tie Jutanugarn in regulation, and the pair were tied again after the two-hole aggregate playoff after Kim made a bogey on the second hole. Jutanugarn won on the fourth playoff hole (and second of sudden death) after getting up and down from a greenside bunker while Kim made a bogey. Kim finished the year 25th on the money list with $753,439 and was 64th in the Race to CME.
2019 Notes: Was T-5th at the HSBC Women's Champions. Shot a final round 62 to finish T-7th a the KIA Classic, 4 shots back of winner Nasa Hataoka. Was T-6th at the ANA Inspiration.
2020 Notes: Didn't play on the LPGA Tour in 2020, instead playing in Korea. Won two events on the KLPGA Tour, the Lotte Cantata Ladies Open and the KB Financial Group Star Championship in October, and led the KLPGA money list.
2021 Notes: Played in 16 events on the LPGA Tour, making the cut in all of them but withdrawing once. She was 21st on the money list with $854,962 and 20th in CME points. Had four top-10 finishes, including a win at the HSBC Women's World Championship, where she shot a final-round 64 to come from five strokes behind and win by one over Hannah Green. It was her first LPGA victory since 2016. Finished T-3rd at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, nine strokes behind winner Nelly Korda. Played in the Tokyo Olympics for South Korea and finished T-15. On the KLPGA, won the Se Ri Pak Invitational and the SK Networks Seokyung Ladies Classic. She established the Hyo Joo Kim Golf Academy in her hometown of Wonju, South Korea.
2022 Notes: Played in 17 LPGA Tour events, making 15 cuts with eight top-ten finishes. She was 11th on the money list with $1,533,497 in earnings and was 12th in CME points. Won the LOTTE Championship, opening with 67-67 and ultimately prevailing by two shots over Hinako Shibuno. In major championships, finished T-8th at the Chevron Championship, missed the cut at the U.S. Women's Open, T-5th at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, four shots behind winner In Gee Chun, and T-3rd at the Amundi Evian Championship, two shots behind winner Brooke Henderson and T-15th at the AIG Women's Open. Shot a final round of 66 at the Trust Golf Women's Scottish Open to finish T-3rd, four shots back of winner Ayaka Furue. She was also T-3rd at the BMW Ladies Championship, five back of winner Lydia Ko. Ended her season with a T-17th finish at the CME Group Tour Championship.
2023 Notes: Started the season with three top-ten finishes. Was T-10th at the Honda LPGA Thailand. T-8th at the HSBC Women's Champions, and T-3rd at the DIO Implant LA Open, three shots back of the winner Ruoning Yin. She was a member of South Korea's team at the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown. She was 2nd at the ShopRite Classic, one shot back of winner Ashleigh Buhai. She was 5th at the Meijer LPGA Classic, five shots back of the winner Leona Maguire. Finished T-6th at the U.S. Women's Open, seven shots back of the winner Allisen Corpuz. Shot a final round 65 at the Freed Group Women's Scottish Open to finish 2nd, two shots back of the winner Celine Boutier.