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Photo by \u00a0Douglas P. DeFelice\/getty images<\/p>\nGrace Kim authored one of the great finishes in major-championship history on her way to winning the Evian Championship. Yet to those who know her, the Sydneysider\u2019s final flourish came as no surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meeting Grace Kim for the first time is like tapping into a super-charged supply of positivity. Her broad smile is electric, while her manner is perpetually bubbly and, quite frankly, contagious. Her demeanour is so upbeat, it\u2019s hard to imagine anyone in her presence not feeling better about life just for being around her. Twentysomethings sometimes get a bad rap for their perceived insularity. Not Kim.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving this as my job is something that a lot of people are very jealous of and I\u2019m grateful for it,\u201d Kim tells Australian Golf Digest Women. \u201cI try to be smiley because it is a great job. You don\u2019t want to watch someone be all grumpy, so I try not to be. I try to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
That disposition doesn\u2019t come naturally, according to Kim. \u201cI was probably a bit more internal [with it] if anything,\u201d she says of her formative years. \u201cI\u2019d say I\u2019m pretty hard on myself and I\u2019m very contact-sensitive, so as soon as I hit an average shot in my terms, you can tell right away. I think it\u2019s \u2018a thing\u2019 now too, but it used to be a lot worse. And I try not to be too outwardly with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether natural or learned with time, such sparkle doesn\u2019t tell the full Grace Kim story. While the \u2018shop window\u2019 says happy and easy-going, peering \u2018back-of-house\u2019 reveals genuine dedication and determination, the kind that has already brought major-championship success. When Kim dramatically solved the riddle of the roller-coaster closing stretch at the Evian Resort course to win the Amundi Evian Championship in July, she not only became Australia\u2019s fifth female major winner, she also made a prophet out of her swing coach.<\/p>\n
Count Khan Pullen among the litany of Australian PGA professionals who don\u2019t get the credit they deserve. In this instance, the veteran teacher saw something in his fellow Sydneysider earlier this year that began a chain of events that would ultimately bear fruit in France. It turns out the coach is just as much a source of positivity as the pupil.<\/p>\n
After Kim endured a lacklustre start to her 2025 season, Pullen initiated a conversation with his player that was difficult for both at the time, yet without it there\u2019s every chance Kim would have one less trophy on her mantelpiece.<\/p>\n
Photo by \u00a0Douglas P. DeFelice\/getty images<\/p>\n
\u201cI could just notice that she was deflated, just going through the motions a little bit,\u201d Pullen says. \u201cShe had to go back and review some bigger-picture stuff. Where do you want to go with golf, what do you want to achieve out of it? Where do you want to go with it all? I said to her, \u2018These are the aspirations I have for you: I think you can win major championships and I\u2019d love to see you play in the Olympics one day. That\u2019s what I\u2019d like, but you\u2019ve got to really look at what you want to get from golf.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought she was just \u2013 I don\u2019t know if \u2018ambling along\u2019 is the right term, but she just didn\u2019t seem to have any real purpose or enthusiasm. Probably through a little bit of a lack of confidence in not playing that well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim agrees it was a tough conversation on both ends. \u201cIt\u2019s been hard, at least the past two years and then the start of this year\u2026\u201d she says, her voice trailing off. \u201cLook, I won [on the LPGA Tour] early in my career and I thought that was a bit of a fluke. And I wasn\u2019t really backing it up to prove that I was good enough. So I kind of spiralled down, mentally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was losing what I guess the purpose of me playing on tour was. So I was just losing a little bit of motivation, and it got to a point where Khan noticed on the golf course. If you are expressing it physically, even though you\u2019re not trying to, it\u2019s pretty obvious that you don\u2019t want to be there. It\u2019s hard because in golf, you\u2019ve got a lot more lows than you\u2019ve got highs, and I think I was just in that little bit of a slump. And then you\u2019re second-guessing yourself and then you go down through that whole rabbit hole again. Mentally it was tough, and I think unintentionally I put that on Khan, too. It was definitely a tough conversation, but it was much-needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gradually, Kim\u2019s on-course results improved as the northern summer approached. Ninth place at the Black Desert Championship in May was not only her first top-10 result of the year, it was also her first finish inside the top 30. That fed into an opening 65 at the Meijer LPGA Classic in June. Even if a complete, 72-hole performance had not materialised, the pieces were slowly falling into place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was just a bit of an attitude change through that period,\u201d Pullen recalls. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it was a drastic change, but you could start to see that things were turning around and starting to head in a better direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Photo by\u00a0Stuart Franklin, Raj Mehta\/getty images<\/p>\n
FRENCH CLASS<\/p>\n
The undulating Evian Resort course overlooking Lake Geneva has served up its fair share of wild finishes at the Evian Championship through the years. Four years ago, Kim\u2019s compatriot Minjee Lee flew home in 64 to erase a seven-shot deficit before winning in a playoff, proving that comebacks are possible.<\/p>\n
Kim ignited her own barnstorming finish in July. After hovering in or near the lead throughout the championship, she found herself trailing Thailand\u2019s Jeeno Thitikul on the back nine after a double-bogey on the 12th hole. Bounce-back birdies at the 15th and 16th plus a gutsy two-putt par at the 17th paved the way for one of the finest 72nd-hole approach shots in major-championship history. Kim laced a 4-hybrid to tap-in distance on the 18th to close with an eagle that forced a playoff with Thitikul (Lee missed out on joining them by just a shot).<\/p>\n
However, all Kim\u2019s hopes appeared dashed minutes later when the same 4-hybrid was struck with far less conviction and trundled into the pond fronting the green. With Thitikul safely on the fringe in two, Kim was left searching for a miracle. Fortune shined on her in one remarkable, rapturous moment when her pitch shot chased up the green, struck the pin and dropped for the most unlikely birdie. The Thai two-putted to send them back to the 18th tee where Kim collected another eagle \u2013 this time via a 15-foot putt after another pure 4-hybrid and this time to win. Such a frenetic finish bolstered the reputations of both Kim and the event, which has long been viewed as the poor cousin among the five LPGA majors. Not that Kim minds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was grateful for the result, but all I was thinking was, OK, if it wasn\u2019t meant to be, it\u2019s not meant to be,\u201d says Kim, who keeps the wedge that struck her magical pitch shot beside the Evian trophy in her house.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to pinpoint the electric finish as the reason behind her biggest victory, yet Kim will tell you there were several moments earlier in the round that swayed her thinking. \u201cThe playoff was something different, something else, but I had a lot of par putts that were six to 10 feet, so I had to make them,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThere were a lot of incidences where I kept the momentum going. I even said to my caddie after I double-bogeyed 12, \u2018I\u2019ve got nothing else to lose, so I might as well just birdie everything coming in.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Enter one of the best closing stretches in golf history. When the winning putt fell, Kim looked shocked as much as elated, her left hand raised to cover her wide-open mouth as the crowd cheered. Even a few months on, there\u2019s still disbelief in her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeechless,\u201d she says of her reaction. \u201cHonestly, I think being a major, one, speechless. The way I finished it, speechless. And obviously the whole playoff, everything, everyone being there to celebrate. I\u2019m always kind of stunned to speak, but obviously very grateful in the way I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
If she was stunned in the immediate aftermath, Kim was a picture of control in the heat of the closing stages. Even when her approach shot in the playoff found water, she shut out all the noise, both literal and figurative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole time I just was trying to avoid a lot of movement with my eyes, so I put the sunnies back on,\u201d Kim says. \u201cI just tried to say cool, calm, collected in that stressful situation. The whole day I was very inspired by Jeeno. She\u2019s a great player, first of all, but her attitude that she brings to the tour, she\u2019s always very smiley, very positive. Any incidents that are thrown at her that isn\u2019t what she expected or isn\u2019t good, she always has a very positive composure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried throughout the day to be smiley as well and I think that showed on TV. You try to breathe a little bit in that playoff situation. And yeah, it\u2019s not something that you can practise, so I just made sure I didn\u2019t show too much emotion because obviously at the end of the day, even though she\u2019s a friend, she\u2019s a competitor. I just didn\u2019t want to give away the fact that, Oh, I\u2019ve given up, which I hadn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
What isn\u2019t widely known is that Kim was unwell most of the week, actively trying to avoid coughing in her playing partners\u2019 putting strokes at one stage.<\/p>\n
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Photo by Stuart Franklin, Raj Mehta\/getty images<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to stay on top of looking after my immune system. I probably didn\u2019t do a great job leading up to Evian, so I caught a cold early in the week and then it just progressively got worse,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was more so that tickly throat, so that\u2019s really annoying, especially on the golf course when you\u2019re trying to stay quiet over your opponent\u2019s putt.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I\u2019m dying on the side. All of Saturday was probably the worst, but you could still hear me cough throughout Sunday. I even said to my physio on the Saturday night, \u2018Don\u2019t worry about it. I don\u2019t need treatment, I\u2019m just going to rest.\u2019 And he was like, \u2018Nah, let\u2019s get you sorted for tomorrow.\u2019 So I even masked up and got treatment that night. But after Sunday, I lost my voice for three days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim lost her voice but gained fame, both new and familiar. Karrie Webb, who appears to derive more joy from young Australians finding success on the LPGA Tour than she did when she dominated the circuit, was one of the first to make contact.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe FaceTimed and she was saying how she\u2019s never yelled so loudly at the TV, never jumped so high at the same time, so that was really lovely,\u201d Kim says. \u201cI got an Instagram follow and DM from the Shark, Greg Norman, so that was pretty cool. I can\u2019t remember the last time I had so many DMs, messages, e-mails and everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim can now enjoy the security of a five-year exemption on the LPGA Tour. Yet as Pullen notes, only two LPGA players entered more events than Kim in 2024, so schedule management will now become key for a different reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives me the luxury to pick and choose now, and hopefully I\u2019m not just going to be like, I can kind of slack off,\u201d Kim says. \u201cIt\u2019s more, How can I use this smartly to then have blocks of development, maybe some blocks of rest and recovery and then try to produce better scores or better results?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll discuss a smart way to balance it out,\u201d Kim says. \u201cBe at home, which I love, but at the same time it\u2019s tough in Australia to get some good practice done. It seems like in America it\u2019s just so much more advanced. You\u2019ve got the space to do whatever you want, and I think the golf world is a lot different in America, so the practice facilities are a lot better, unfortunately. But at the same time I love being home, so we\u2019ll see what works.\u201d<\/p>\n
The aftermath of an unexpected major victory can be twofold. \u201cI always think, Is it going to be a launching pad or is it going to be the ceiling?\u201d Pullen says about tour players in general. With Kim however, you get the feeling this is more the former.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone thinks that it could be a launching pad and it very much could be,\u201d Pullen adds. \u201cI\u2019d already said to Grace, \u2018I think you can win majors, but you never know when it\u2019s really going to happen or if it\u2019s going to happen.\u2019 She probably jumped a step there. She\u2019d had some good rounds in majors but you wouldn\u2019t say she was consistently in contention in majors, and she\u2019s learned from those experiences to ultimately win one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helping Kim step forward so quickly is how she has already \u2018found\u2019 her key to progressing on tour, and it centres on adaptability. \u201cAnyone who adapts quickly during the week is generally who does well in the back end of the week,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2224288058-1024x576.jpg\")
Photo by ALEX MARTIN\/getty images<\/p>\n
CHASING SOMETHING MORE?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an authenticity to Grace Kim that shows in her play and her personality. Such self-awareness also isn\u2019t a given among athletes her age playing sport professionally. Kim, who turns 25 in December, is acutely aware of the bigger picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest things for Grace is, she\u2019s always had a purpose outside golf,\u201d Pullen says. \u201cFor as long as we\u2019ve talked about these things, golf has been about the opportunity to give back to her parents. Her parents have given an amazing amount of support to her and her golf and made sacrifices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim\u2019s ascent is also an education for Pullen and the rest of her team on tour. \u201cFor me as a coach, never having been a major-winner coach before, there\u2019s learnings for me in this place as well,\u201d Pullen says. \u201cSo I\u2019m along on that journey. But it\u2019s really going to come down to when we get together as a team \u2013 probably at the end of the year when she gets back home \u2013 and saying, \u2018Well, Grace, what\u2019s this all going to mean for us now, going forward?\u2019 And, \u2018What\u2019s your next bigger purpose for golf? Are you going to start up a Grace Kim charity or have you got a favourite charity that you want to give to?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I think that, for her, she obviously wants to do well at golf, but that\u2019s not the means to the end. I feel like her purpose is more. She\u2019s such a charitable and giving person\u2026 I think she wants to find \u2013 I don\u2019t know if a higher purpose is the right way of putting it, but something more purposeful for doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Right now, Kim is finding plenty of purpose on the golf course. After a momentous 2025 season, her \u2018launching pad\u2019 is prepped and ready for another lift-off. It\u2019ll be exciting to see just how high she can fly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Short and sweet: A quick-fire Q&A with Grace Kim<\/p>\n
Favorite golf courses, both on tour and not on tour.
\u201cNot on tour is\u2026 I\u2019ll flex a little bit: Augusta. On tour, am I having to say Evian? If it\u2019s not Evian, Baltusrol. That course was quite fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which of the Aussies on tour are the most fun to go out and have dinner with?
\u201cSteph Kyriacou or Karis Davidson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where would you go?
\u201cWe like food more than alcohol, so we would just stuff our face with any good Italian\/Mediterranean. We all like Korean too, so maybe Korean barbecue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Could the Australian Open have continued to work as a dual championship?
\u201cYes, but at the same time it\u2019s just not how it used to be. [Playing concurrently alongside] the men probably helped us get more exposure, but I think we can definitely work separately back to where it was before, because I think we deserve the same amount of exposure, sponsors, experience. So I\u2019d say yes, it could have worked, and maybe in the future we might have another. I mean, [the Webex Players Series] is working, and the girls do like beating the boys \u2013 and we tend to!\u201d<\/p>\n
The old chestnut \u2013 what score would a scratch-handicap male golfer shoot on the average LPGA Tour setup?
\u201cFor four days? I reckon at best, five-over. Three to five-over. The pressure is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve got a 10 footer and your life depends on it dropping. Do you want to hit it or do you want to give it to the best putter on the LPGA to putt for you?
\u201cIf you were to ask me that three months ago, I\u2019d probably say, \u2018Yep, give it to someone else.\u2019 But I think now, I\u2019m very comfortable with putting. I think I\u2019ll happily putt and take the responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Grace Kim authored one of the great finishes in major-championship history on her way to winning the Evian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-263176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}