Christina Kim became notorious when, as an amateur, she shot a 62 at the U.S. Girl's Amateur Championship, the lowest score ever shot at any USGA event. She turned pro in early 2002. Competing on the Futures Tour, she won one event and notched 12 top tens to finish second on the money list and earn an exempt card for the LPGA in 2003.

Christina went the extra mile to prepare for her rookie season - literally. She and her parents drove to almost every tournament site before the season, and she played at least one round of golf on the course to become familiar with the layout. Some of those courses were under a few inches of snow when she played there! The hope was that she would have a leg up on her rookie competitors when she reached those venues for the actual events.

In 2003, she made an immediate splash at her very first LPGA event. She played in the final group on Sunday and had a chance to win, but finished 4th. Though she got a bit burned out by the end of the year, she went on to finish fourth in the Rookie of the Year standings.

Christina got noticed for more than her results, however. She quickly became known as one of the true spitfires on tour. With her intense emotional reactions and bright showy clothes, it was impossible to ignore her, and she earned legions of fans everywhere she went.

2004 proved to be a breakout season. She had a number of good results early, including a top ten at the year's second Major. But her game really kicked into gear towards the end of the season. At one point, she had a stretch of three of four events where she led after the first round. She started the State Farm Classic by tying the course record, and would go on to lose to Cristie Kerr in an epic battle, despite shooting the second best score in tournament history.

Finally, Christina won her first event when, at the Longs Drugs Challenge, she held off the Hall of Famers Karrie Webb and Juli Inkster coming down the stretch. It was a particularly poignant win for her, as it came in Sacramento, only a few hours away from where she was born and grew up.

Christina got a chance late in the season to represent Korea at the Pinx Cup. It was quite possible that she would become the first player of Korean descent to play on the Solheim Cup when it takes place later in 2005. She started the 2005 season in third place in Solheim points for the American team.

2005 did not start strongly for Christina, but things got progressively better for her as the year went on. She played well enough throughout the season to qualify for the Solheim Cup team, and did a fantastic job playing for America during the Cup in September. Not only did she win numerous points for the team, but her relentless cheerleading made her the fan favorite of the week, and she ended up appearing on many golf magazine covers afterwards.

Christina parlayed this success into her second career win, when she captured the Tournament of Champions in November. This moved her into the top twenty on the money list for the second straight year.

Over the winter of 2005-06, Christina undertook her first ever massive physical training program. She lost over 30 pounds, and was in fantastic physical shape to start the 2006 season. She changed other things as well: her father was no longer her caddie for the most part, and she no longer wore her trademark beret, trading it in for a bandana (and even that she didn't wear all the time).

Unfortunately, her new condition did not translate into better performance. In fact, 2006 turned out to be her least impressive season since her rookie year. It was not a terrible year, however: she still had three top tens and finished 35th on the money list.

In 2007, she started the season slowly, but by the middle of the year was again contending for titles. She played particularly well at the Safeway Classic; although Lorena Ochoa ran away with the title, Kim managed a tie for second, her best finish in some time. It was not enough, however, for Solheim Captain Betsy King to pick her for the team, a crushing blow considering how integral a part of the team she had been in 2005.

Christina has had some off course highlights as well. She signed sponsorship deals with several companies, including LIJA, a Canadian apparel company; Keri Golf, a golf bag company who will allow Christina to have input in the bags she uses on course; and Yes! Putters. She was featured in an episode of the Golf Channel's show 'Playing Lessons with the Pros', and in a new show on that channel called 'My World', which gave viewers a behind the scenes look at a few days in her life.

2007 was a good year for Christina; she made over $600,000 and finished in the top 25 on the money list. She finished it with a bang: at the ADT Tour Championship, she hit a fantastic iron to one foot in the third round playoff to advance to the million dollar final round; she didn't win there, though.

In 2008, Christina started the year on fire, with top tens in three of her first four events. She cooled off after that, but in May again made several top tens, including a second place finish at the Michelob Ultra.