South Korean teenager sets record by shooting 61 in first major test
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE— South Korean teen Hyo-Joo Kim made history look easy, with barely a glitch as she posted the lowest score ever in a major with a 10-under 61 to open the Evian Championship on Thursday.
To boot, the first round of her major debut achieved perfect symmetry, with five birdies each on the front and back nine.
“I made a chance (for) a birdie on every (hole),” she said. “I missed some (but) it didn’t matter.”
If she didn’t sound fussed about the 61, it’s because she did it last year on Japan’s JLPGA circuit.
“My goal is to have a good experience here. That’s all,” said the 19year-old Kim, who was in the first year of a physical education course at Seoul University.
Her good experience exceeded the previous best score in a major of 62, by Minea Blomqvist of Finland in the third round of the 2004 British Open — also when she was19 — and Lorena Ochoa in the first round of the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship. In a men’s major, 63 is the lowest, and it has been achieved multiple times.
“I like a hard course,” Kim said. “I felt very comfortable today.”
Blomqvist and Ochoa might still be holding their record if not for Kim’s remarkable escape on the third hole, when she went into the bunker off the tee and still got a birdie.
“She had a few up and downs and a chip-in on the third, par four . . . after she shot a little bit left,” her caddy Gordon Rowan said. “She had a very difficult chip. She’s not a massive hitter but has a very decent length, and keeps up with the girls. She’s so straight and this is a course where you need to hit fairways because the rough is very thick.
“Her accuracy into the greens means that she’s never far away. She also has a very good temperament, and even on days when she’s fighting and putts don’t fall, she keeps going.”
Kim is ranked 20th in the world, and leads the Korean LPGA money list with three wins. She takes a four-shot lead over veteran Karrie Webb into the second round of the last major of the year. Korean Mi-Jung Hur was five behind Kim in third after a round of 66, while defending champion Suzann Pettersen of Norway and Brittany Lincicome of the U.S. were six behind. Inbee Park, bidding for back-toback majors after defending her title at the LPGA Championship, was tied for 12th at 2 under.