Championship

Kim Establishes Name For Himself At Junior Amateur

Title Puts Him On Map With Other Great Players

By David Shefter, USGA

San Francisco - If one looks back at the USGA championships previously held on Olympic Club's famed Lake Course, one thing stands out: the individual holding the trophy at the end of the week wasn't the golfer everyone had picked.

Remember Jack Fleck? He shocked the golfing establishment by denying Ben Hogan a record fifth U.S. Open title in an 18-hole playoff in 1955. Then there was Arnold Palmer in 1966, who all but locked up his second Open championship when a hard-charging Billy Casper caught him and won the ensuing playoff.

Then there was Scott Simpson, a steady but not dynamic player in 1987, edging out the former Stanford standout, Tom Watson. And 11 years later, the late Payne Stewart was caught by Lee Janzen, hardly a no-name but certainly not the pre-championship favorite, on the back nine.

Even when the U.S. Amateur was waged here in 1981, Nathaniel Crosby, who was known more for being Bing Crosby 's son than for his shot-making, walked off with the trophy.

So when the best juniors assembled this week at the historic venue for the 57th U.S. Junior Amateur, the name Sihwan Kim was hardly on anybody's radar screen. Neither was David Chung, a pint-sized 14-year-old who became well-known for his trademark bucket hat and uncanny ability to hole putts from virtually everywhere on these tricky Poa annua greens.

The favorites? They were guys like defending champion Brian Harman, Sung Kang, who had just been a semifinalist at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship a week prior to the Junior Amateur, last year's runner-up Jordan Cox, a junior member at Olympic Club, Jon Curran, Randy Lowry and Matt Savage.

But there was Kim, proudly holding the U.S. Junior Amateur trophy on the 18th green Saturday after sweating out a 1-up victory over Chung, who fell one match short of becoming the youngest Junior Amateur champion in the event's history.

When the match concluded, he was emotionless.

"Because it was such a relief and I mean after I won, I was just like blank," explained Kim. "I couldn't say anything or couldn't like smile because I couldn't believe I won this tournament,"

Kim, who had never competed in a match-play competition since most junior events are stroke play, had no idea what to expect from himself. He almost seemed in awe of the entire scene. And he practically conceded his quarterfinal match against stroke-play medalist Harman 12 hours before playing it.

That's just his personality, as members of the media, spectators and club members found out. He's respectful and gracious. But boy can he play this game. He took out Harman in a grueling 1-up victory, and then handled Curran, who had shot the equivalent of 6 under par in his third-round victory, 3 and 2.

Kim displayed power and finesse. The 6-foot, 200-pounder consistently out-drove Chung in the final and sometimes was hitting four clubs less than his opponent into the greens. And when he missed greens, his short game proved to be plenty solid, especially at the par-5 16th hole when he got up and down for par to halve the hole and maintain the 1-up advantage.

This from a player who has yet to receive his driver's license. At 15 years, 7 months and 20 days, Kim, of Fullerton, Calif. (he came to the U.S. from Korea four years ago to enhance his golf game) became the second-youngest Junior Amateur winner. Only Tiger Woods (15/6/28) was younger.

"When I first came here, I was like, 'Wow, this course is amazing,’ " said Kim. "It's beautiful and in hard condition. This course is my coach's favorite (he's coached by Bobby Lasken) course, too. I heard a lot about this course from my coach.

"I really surprised myself of how many players I beat. I mean six great players. This will definitely raise my confidence level. I think this [championship] is a great opportunity to play match play. It's a little different thinking and strategy."

Having a great week at the U.S. Junior can be a springboard of greater things to come. By winning the championship, Kim now is exempt for the next two U.S. Amateurs, the next two U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships and will never have to qualify for a Junior Amateur again. He also has a three-year exemption out of local qualifying for the U.S. Open.

And how's this for an itinerary: he next plays at Bay Hill for an American Junior Golf Association event and then he'll be headed to Winged Foot for the U.S. Amateur. He'll also play at Merion for the 2005 U.S. Amateur, not to mention the chance to defend his Junior Amateur crown next July.

Then again, four years ago Kim couldn't speak any English. When he went to school for the first time, he wanted to communicate with his fellow students, but just didn't know how. He obviously learned quickly and his game seems on the fast-track as well. It will soon be etched with the other great Junior Amateur champions, players such as Johnny Miller (a former member at Olympic), David Duval and Tiger Woods.

By no means is the Junior Amateur a sure ticket to stardom in professional golf. Some big-name players never won this championship, including Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson. Nicklaus competed five times and never won, making it the only USGA championship he hasn't captured that he was eligible for.

But Kim has come awfully far from the days when he could barely get the ball airborn. "I didn't even like the game back then because it was boring and I couldn't hit the ball five yards," Kim said. "As I got better, I liked the sport. I came to America and that's what happened."

The U.S. has, indeed, become a land of opportunity for Kim. His English is getting stronger as he can now sit through a press conference with reporters and answer questions in a lengthy manner. And now everyone in the junior golf community will know his name.

Funny what one week at the U.S. Junior can do for a young golfer. Confidence and notoriety is a real nice thing. And one can only imagine what headlines he might receive back in Korea, a country that is golf crazy. There are 21 Koreans playing on the LPGA Tour and K.J. Choi is on the PGA Tour. Two of the last three Girls' Junior champions are Korean and now two U.S. Junior Amateur champions can claim Korean citizenship (Terry Noe won in 1994).

"When I won the L.A. City, which was in southern California it was in the newspaper [back in Korea]," said Kim. "My family were just going crazy about it. My dad is like, 'My son is in the newspaper.' And this tournament is like greater than the L.A. City.

"I'm probably not the greatest player in Korea right now. I mean, there are probably greater players in Korea. [But] they see me like playing golf in the United States and then winning the Junior Amateur, they probably think that United States is a good place to play golf. I think they are probably going to do what I did, coming over to the U.S. and learning English, studying and playing golf. I think it's going to influence Korean people a lot."

The proper term is the American Dream. Sihwan Kim is living proof that the mantra is still alive and kicking.

David Shefter is a USGA staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.


	Kim Establishes Name For Himself At Junior Amateur Title Puts Him On Map With Other Great Players By David Shefter, USGA San Francisco - If one looks back at the USGA championships previously held on Olympic Club's famed Lake Course, one thing stands out: the individual holding the trophy at the end of the week wasn't the golfer everyone had picked. Remember Jack Fleck? He shocked the golfing establishment by denying Ben Hogan a record fifth U.S. Open title in an 18-hole playoff in 1955. Then there was Arnold Palmer in 1966, who all but locked up his second Open championship when a hard-charging Billy Casper caught him and won the ensuing playoff. Then there was Scott Simpson, a steady but not dynamic player in 1987, edging out the former Stanford standout, Tom Watson. And 11 years later, the late Payne Stewart was caught by Lee Janzen, hardly a no-name but certainly not the pre-championship favorite, on the back nine. Even when the U.S. Amateur was waged here in 1981, Nathaniel Crosby, who was known more for being Bing Crosby 's son than for his shot-making, walked off with the trophy. So when the best juniors assembled this week at the historic venue for the 57th U.S. Junior Amateur, the name Sihwan Kim was hardly on anybody's radar screen. Neither was David Chung, a pint-sized 14-year-old who became well-known for his trademark bucket hat and uncanny ability to hole putts from virtually everywhere on these tricky Poa annua greens. The favorites? They were guys like defending champion Brian Harman, Sung Kang, who had just been a semifinalist at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship a week prior to the Junior Amateur, last year's runner-up Jordan Cox, a junior member at Olympic Club, Jon Curran, Randy Lowry and Matt Savage. But there was Kim, proudly holding the U.S. Junior Amateur trophy on the 18th green Saturday after sweating out a 1-up victory over Chung, who fell one match short of becoming the youngest Junior Amateur champion in the event's history. When the match concluded, he was emotionless. "Because it was such a relief and I mean after I won, I was just like blank," explained Kim. "I couldn't say anything or couldn't like smile because I couldn't believe I won this tournament," Kim, who had never competed in a match-play competition since most junior events are stroke play, had no idea what to expect from himself. He almost seemed in awe of the entire scene. And he practically conceded his quarterfinal match against stroke-play medalist Harman 12 hours before playing it. That's just his personality, as members of the media, spectators and club members found out. He's respectful and gracious. But boy can he play this game. He took out Harman in a grueling 1-up victory, and then handled Curran, who had shot the equivalent of 6 under par in his third-round victory, 3 and 2. Kim displayed power and finesse. The 6-foot, 200-pounder consistently out-drove Chung in the final and sometimes was hitting four clubs less than his opponent into the greens. And when he missed greens, his short game proved to be plenty solid, especially at the par-5 16th hole when he got up and down for par to halve the hole and maintain the 1-up advantage. This from a player who has yet to receive his driver's license. At 15 years, 7 months and 20 days, Kim, of Fullerton, Calif. (he came to the U.S. from Korea four years ago to enhance his golf game) became the second-youngest Junior Amateur winner. Only Tiger Woods (15/6/28) was younger. "When I first came here, I was like, 'Wow, this course is amazing,’ " said Kim. "It's beautiful and in hard condition. This course is my coach's favorite (he's coached by Bobby Lasken) course, too. I heard a lot about this course from my coach. "I really surprised myself of how many players I beat. I mean six great players. This will definitely raise my confidence level. I think this [championship] is a great opportunity to play match play. It's a little different thinking and strategy." Having a great week at the U.S. Junior can be a springboard of greater things to come. By winning the championship, Kim now is exempt for the next two U.S. Amateurs, the next two U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships and will never have to qualify for a Junior Amateur again. He also has a three-year exemption out of local qualifying for the U.S. Open. And how's this for an itinerary: he next plays at Bay Hill for an American Junior Golf Association event and then he'll be headed to Winged Foot for the U.S. Amateur. He'll also play at Merion for the 2005 U.S. Amateur, not to mention the chance to defend his Junior Amateur crown next July. Then again, four years ago Kim couldn't speak any English. When he went to school for the first time, he wanted to communicate with his fellow students, but just didn't know how. He obviously learned quickly and his game seems on the fast-track as well. It will soon be etched with the other great Junior Amateur champions, players such as Johnny Miller (a former member at Olympic), David Duval and Tiger Woods. By no means is the Junior Amateur a sure ticket to stardom in professional golf. Some big-name players never won this championship, including Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson. Nicklaus competed five times and never won, making it the only USGA championship he hasn't captured that he was eligible for. But Kim has come awfully far from the days when he could barely get the ball airborn. "I didn't even like the game back then because it was boring and I couldn't hit the ball five yards," Kim said. "As I got better, I liked the sport. I came to America and that's what happened." The U.S. has, indeed, become a land of opportunity for Kim. His English is getting stronger as he can now sit through a press conference with reporters and answer questions in a lengthy manner. And now everyone in the junior golf community will know his name. Funny what one week at the U.S. Junior can do for a young golfer. Confidence and notoriety is a real nice thing. And one can only imagine what headlines he might receive back in Korea, a country that is golf crazy. There are 21 Koreans playing on the LPGA Tour and K.J. Choi is on the PGA Tour. Two of the last three Girls' Junior champions are Korean and now two U.S. Junior Amateur champions can claim Korean citizenship (Terry Noe won in 1994). "When I won the L.A. City, which was in southern California it was in the newspaper [back in Korea]," said Kim. "My family were just going crazy about it. My dad is like, 'My son is in the newspaper.' And this tournament is like greater than the L.A. City. "I'm probably not the greatest player in Korea right now. I mean, there are probably greater players in Korea. [But] they see me like playing golf in the United States and then winning the Junior Amateur, they probably think that United States is a good place to play golf. I think they are probably going to do what I did, coming over to the U.S. and learning English, studying and playing golf. I think it's going to influence Korean people a lot." The proper term is the American Dream. Sihwan Kim is living proof that the mantra is still alive and kicking. David Shefter is a USGA staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.