On Saturday, the American viewing public got a chance to meet Christina Kim for the first time. It was her 19th birthday, and she was miked for play. And right from the very first time they showed her, she did something memorable. She hit an approach shot to a hole, and her father congratulated her while the ball was in flight. Christina replied, 'No, it's not good, it's garbage!'. Then the ball landed, took a hop and stopped right next to the hole. 'Wait! Never mind!' she quickly added. That little exchange should give you a real insight into the world of Christina Kim!

Christina Kim could be the textbook definition of feisty. The youngest player on the LPGA, she only first broke par a mere four years ago. Her career path has been meteoric. When she was 17, she entered a USGA Girls Championship and proceeded to shoot the lowest score in the history of the event. Indeed, her 62 that day was the lowest score ever recorded in any USGA sanctioned event, men's, women's, you name it. As an amateur, she took Beth Bauer to a playoff in a Futures Tour event before losing. And of course, in 2002 she finished second to Ochoa by a slim margin on the Futures Tour. All the signs are there that Christina Kim is a player to watch.

But it was her personality on this day that really set her apart. In a sport that seems to attract taciturn, unemotional types, Kim is wildly enthusiastic. She hits the ball a mile, and has an interesting give and take with her father, who is also her caddie. How many memorable quotes will Christina generate before the end of the year, I wonder? Well, she already managed a few this day, including scolding her father for being 'a big baby' and adding, 'it's hard these days to raise parents'.

Man Kim gave up his job as a computer expert in Silicon Valley to travel with his daughter full time and act as her manager, caddie and chaperone. He is nothing if not confident. Though Christina was unknown at the beginning of the week, by the end she was the topic of discussion on ESPN radio. Though she started the year with no sponsors, Man Kim fully believes his daughter will have no such dilemma at the end of the year. Though they are living on savings and money borrowed from friends, he is confident that will not be an issue by year's end. He's probably right on all counts!

AP Photo/Wily Low

Christina and her father

AP Photo/Wily Low

Young Kim also got a chance to showcase her talents on TV, and did not disappoint. She did struggle when a bunker shot on the 14th hole resulted in a double bogey, but she also offset that with birdies on 11, 16 and 17. She ended the day with a 69, which kept her on the leaderboard but dropped her several shots behind the leaders. Still, there was much positive to say about this young lady. Her swing is quite straight and surprisingly long, considering how wispy Kim seems. But what really stood out was her putting. She must have nailed during the four day tournament at least four 30 foot putts on TV, and who knows how many more off TV. One thing that usually takes Koreans a while to get used to when they come over to America is the speed of greens here. Young Kim has shown she is well along on that learning curve.

And even though she seems to speak limited English, Young showed she has a sense of humor. During her post-round interview, she was asked her impression of the LPGA tour, and replied 'gallery is all people who have yellow hair - all Americans, no Koreans'. Probably not the main difference most would think she would notice, but undeniably true!