Birdie Kim

Birdie Kim 김주연
Kim before 2009 Women's British Open
Personal information
Full name	Birdie Kim
Born	(1981-08-26) 26 August 1981 Iksan, South Korea
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Sporting nationality	South Korea
Spouse	Bae Gyu Lee (m.2007)
Career
College	Korea University
Turned professional	2000
Current tour(s)	LPGA Tour (joined 2004)
Former tour(s)	Symetra Tour (2001–03, 2012)
Professional wins	4
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	1
Epson Tour	3
Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 1)
Chevron Championship	T45: 2006
Women's PGA C'ship	T25: 2007
U.S. Women's Open	Won: 2005
Women's British Open	CUT: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Evian Championship	DNP
Medal record Asian Games 1998 Bangkok Women's team

Birdie Kim (Korean: 김주연; born Ju-Yun Kim 26 August 1981) is a South Korean professional golfer. Her career highlight is winning the 2005 U.S. Women's Open at Cherry Hills Country Club. In the last round, she was tied for the lead on the 18th hole with amateurs Morgan Pressel and Brittany Lang. Her second shot found a green-side bunker. She holed out from the bunker to take the lead and ultimately won by two strokes.

Kim won the 1998–99 Korea Junior Championship. She turned professional in November 2000 and joined the Futures Tour, which is the second-tier women's golf tour in the United States, in 2001. Her rookie season on the main LPGA Tour was 2004, and was not successful as she only made three cuts in 20 events, but she retained her tour card by finishing tied 12th at the Qualifying School. She did somewhat better in early 2005, and picked up her first top ten finish that May, but her victory at the U.S. Women's Open was totally unexpected.

She changed her first name to Birdie in 2004, in an effort to distinguish herself from the numerous other Korean golfers named Kim in the women's golf world in the minds of non-Koreans. Kim is a common surname in Korea, especially on the LPGA Tour.

In 2005, Kim earned a total of $715,006 and came in 13th for LPGA season money position. She married fellow pro golfer Bae Kyu Lee in December 2007.

A 2009 car accident derailed Kim's career and she had trouble making cuts on the LPGA. In 2012, she played in 12 events on the Symetra Tour, finishing second on the money list. Kim last played an LPGA-sanctioned event in 2015. Like Janet Alex in 1982 and Hilary Lunke in 2003, the U.S. Open was her only LPGA Tour win.

Professional wins

LPGA Tour wins (1)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (1)
Other LPGA Tour (0)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	26 Jun 2005	U.S. Women's Open	74-72-69-72=287	+3	2 strokes	Brittany Lang Morgan Pressel

Futures Tour wins

• 2001 Chumash Casino Futures Classic, Southwestern Bell Futures Classic
• 2003 Bank of Ann Arbor Futures Classic

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
2005	U.S. Women's Open	+3 (74-72-69-72=287)	2 strokes	Brittany Lang, Morgan Pressel

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
ANA Inspiration			T45	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
Women's PGA Championship	CUT	41	T65	T25	CUT	CUT		CUT
U.S. Women's Open		1	CUT	T16	CUT	CUT		CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
Women's British Open		CUT	CUT	CUT		CUT
The Evian Championship ^

^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

• Starts – 26
• Wins – 1
• 2nd-place finishes – 0
• 3rd-place finishes – 0
• Top 3 finishes – 1
• Top 5 finishes – 1
• Top 10 finishes – 1
• Top 25 finishes – 3
• Missed cuts – 20
• Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (thrice)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Team appearances

Professional

• Lexus Cup (representing Asia team): 2005

External links

• Birdie Kim at the LPGA Tour official site