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she qualified for the Korean amateur national team, and has quickly
become one of the big stars there. The Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific
Championship in March was her coming out party; televised throughout
the Pacific rim countries, her length off the tee and all-around excellence
left the Aussie commentators agog. In the end, Kim finished second
behind the Thai player Eila Galitzky.
In June, 2023, Kim played the Korea Women's Open
and wound up in contention for the title. She finished 4th, but
was a fan favorite all week. She also managed a 9th at the KLPGA's
We've Championship, and a 5th at the OK Financial Group Open.
But it was as a member of the Korean National team
that Kim made the most noise. She played on the Queen Sirikit team,
one of three teenagers representing Korea in this event pitting
Asian national teams against one another. Korea got the win there
for the first time in several years; Kim finished 6th in the individual
standings. A more impressive week came at the Esprito Santo Cup;
this is a biennial national team event that Korea had not managed
to win since the days Hye Jin Choi was on the team, but they claimed
it in 2023 with a team that had Minsol, Hyo Song Lee and Kyo Rim
Seo. It was the fourth win in the past seven cups for Korea.
Minsol and Hyo Song Lee were also on the Asian Games
team for Korea. This is an event that takes place only every four
years, and for the first time, pros were allowed to play. The Koreans
had three teenaged amateurs, and their opponents included world
#2 Ruoning Yin on the Chinese team. But Kim and the Koreans hung
tough, even after one of the teammates fell ill, and ended up finishing
second in the team event, winning the silver medal. Kim finished
6th individually as well. Korea was the only team to medal without
having a pro on their roster.
Minsol and Lee capped their years by being one of
the teams (and only amateur squad) to represent Korea at the Simone
Cup in Indonesia. Once again they were brilliant, and their team
tied for second with the team of KLPGA star rookies Min Byeol Kim
and Youmin Hwang. Kim also finished tied for fourth in the individual
standings with Lee and Thai rival Galitzky.
Kim has already had some highlights in 2024; she
played the Asia Pacific Amateur again, managing a solid 5th place
finish. The sky's the limit for this teen sensation, who as of this
writing has risen to third in the world amateur rankings.
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