Post by HappyFan on Aug 26, 2024 4:05:10 GMT
IK Kim announces retirement
I can't say it's that surprising; we've seen it coming now for a couple of years. But her sudden announcement today that she is retiring from golf that very day caught her friends, colleagues and coaches by surprise. Talk about the exact opposite of the Lexi Thompson retirement tour.
Inky won 7 LPGA events, most notably the 2017 British Women's Open, one of my all time favorite wins. It came, of course, five years after she had the most infamous missed putt in Korean golf history: the one foot par miss on the final hole that would have won her the Kraft Nabisco.
Inky was so much more than that putt and the redemption of the Major crown. She was famously charitable, giving her entire winner's check at the 2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational to charity, including half to a school Ochoa supported. Ochoa was incredibly moved by the surprise gesture. Inky was a Beatles fanatic who taught herself guitar so she could play Blackbird. In her off seasons, she would challenge herself to try new things, one year taking cooking classes at a French school, another year learning to speak French.
She came over to the States, barely able to speak English, as a teenager, and within a year won the US Girls Junior, beating none other than Inbee Park in the finals. Other than her seven wins, my favorite memory of her is the incredible Korean win at the International Crown in front of her home fans. Three of my all time favorite golfers - So Yeon Ryu, In Gee Chun and Inky - were on that team. What a moment!
So long, In Kyung, thanks for the memories!
I can't say it's that surprising; we've seen it coming now for a couple of years. But her sudden announcement today that she is retiring from golf that very day caught her friends, colleagues and coaches by surprise. Talk about the exact opposite of the Lexi Thompson retirement tour.
Inky won 7 LPGA events, most notably the 2017 British Women's Open, one of my all time favorite wins. It came, of course, five years after she had the most infamous missed putt in Korean golf history: the one foot par miss on the final hole that would have won her the Kraft Nabisco.
Inky was so much more than that putt and the redemption of the Major crown. She was famously charitable, giving her entire winner's check at the 2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational to charity, including half to a school Ochoa supported. Ochoa was incredibly moved by the surprise gesture. Inky was a Beatles fanatic who taught herself guitar so she could play Blackbird. In her off seasons, she would challenge herself to try new things, one year taking cooking classes at a French school, another year learning to speak French.
She came over to the States, barely able to speak English, as a teenager, and within a year won the US Girls Junior, beating none other than Inbee Park in the finals. Other than her seven wins, my favorite memory of her is the incredible Korean win at the International Crown in front of her home fans. Three of my all time favorite golfers - So Yeon Ryu, In Gee Chun and Inky - were on that team. What a moment!
So long, In Kyung, thanks for the memories!
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