Grace Kim knows just a bit of “better luck” could be the difference in turning her playoff despair last weekend into a breakthrough major success at the women’s PGA Championship, where the world’s best are vying for yet another record purse.
The 23-year-old Sydneysider fought off tears in the aftermath of her heartbreaking loss at the LPGA event in Michigan, where Kim gave up a five-shot lead before losing to former world No.1 Lilia Vu on the third hole of sudden-death.
Kim isn’t alone in giving up leads this season either, with compatriot Minjee Lee, a two-time major champion, having lost a two-shot lead when a second US Open trophy seemed hers for the taking.
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The duo will be among eight Australians teeing it up at Sahalee Country Club near Seattle, where the prize pool has been bumped by $600,000 to more than $15.5m.
It’s the biggest contingent of Australians, male or female, at any major this season, with Hannah Green, the 2019 PGA champion who has won twice this season, paired with world No.1 Nelly Korda for the opening two rounds.
Gabriela Ruffels, the LPGA Tour rookie-of-the-year points leader, Steph Kyriacou, Hira Naveed, Robyn Choi and Sarah Kemp round out the Australian contingent in Seattle.
The short turnaround time from last week’s let-down means Kim gets an immediate chance to redeem herself and having jumped 17 places in the world rankings after her second-placed finish, is adamant her game is well placed. She just needs things to go her way.
“I know I’m hitting it good, doing all the right things. Just things have to kind of go my way as well,” she said.
“It’s not just about hitting good shots. It’s about better luck as well.
“I know it’s going to be a course that I’m going to like. Yeah, really looking forward to it and hopefully try and do it again.”
Kim is seeing the layout at Sahalee Country Club for the first time and will have to contend with a fired-up Korda, who has missed back-to-back cuts, a rarity for a player who has dominated like few others so far in 2024.
Korda said she hadn’t got lost in her recent downturn.
“You can dwell on the negatives, but that will never lead you anywhere, so you try it look at the positives,” she said.
“I feel like pressure is privilege, and that’s something that you’re the only one that can kind of control that. You can listen to the outside voices, but at the end of the day, when you have pressure you can take it in a positive way that you are doing good and playing well.
“I’m just going to stay in my bubble this week and go out and try to execute my shots, be confident in what I have. This golf course is already hard enough, and if I’m going to put more pressure on myself, then I think it’s just going to make it even harder this week.”
AUSTRALIANS AT THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Hannah Green, Minjee Lee, Grace Kim, Gabriela Ruffels, Steph Kyriacou, Hira Naveed, Robyn Choi, Sarah Kemp.