Updated: January, 2024
The Facts
Name: Kim Cho Rong
It's pronounced: Like it's spelled!
English Name: Christina
Birthday: March 15, 1984
Home City: San Jose, CA, USA; she's All-American, baby!
Rookie Year on LPGA: 2003
LPGA Wins: 3
LPGA Majors: 0 (Best finish: T-3rd at 2009 Ricoh Women's British Open)
Rookie of the year finish: Finished a ways back of Lorena Ochoa
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: Unknown
Family: Two siblings
Best score: 62 (2004 State Farm Classic)
Best Scoring Average for a year: 71.22 (2004)
Best Season money total: $678,598 (2008)
Best Season Money Position: 15th (2004)
Most Top Tens/Season: 9 (2008)
2024 LPGA Status: Category 17
Strong Statistic: Birdies, Eagles
Nicknames: None
Other Sports: None known
Hobbies: Reading, Writing, Studying History, Yoga
Sponsors: Unknown
Why is she a Seoul Sister: She's got a boatload of personality, great fashion flair, and a ton of game.
How's her English?: Fluent. She's American, remember?
Best part of her game: When she catches fire, her iron play is spectacular. Her best feature, though, is her enthusiasm, which can crank a crowd up into a frenzy in no time flat.
Needs to work on: More consistency. She also needs to learn how to pace herself better; almost no one plays more often than Christina.
Cool possible headlines: Give me time, I'll think of some!
Exclusive Interview!
Click HERE to read an exclusive interview with Christina Kim conducted by Seoul Sisters.com at the 2003 Safeway Classic in Portland, Oregon!.
Bio

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. Christina ended up having a fairly strong year, making 9 top tens, the most she had ever made in her career in a season.

2009 was a so so season for Christina, but she did have two great Majors. She nabbed a 7th place finish at the Nabisco. At the year's final Major, The British Open, she was in contention much of the week and wound up finishing tied for third. She also qualified for the Solheim Cup and had an excellent record there.

Christina had a pretty good 2010 season, not quite up there with her very best but still very solid. She accumulated just four top tens during the year, but two of those were at Majors. She finished 26th on the money list with nearly half a million dollars earned.

Her best finish was a tie for second at the Jamie Farr, where she lost a four way playoff to Na Yeon Choi. The playoff was interesting in that it featured four Seoul Sisters: Koreans Choi, In Kyung Kim and Song Hee Kim, and Korean American Christina. So, Choi beat Kim, Kim and Kim for the title!

Christina was off form in 2011. She did not manage even a single top ten all year and finished 58th on the money list. She did win on the European Tour at the Sicilian Ladies Italian Open, her first victory on that tour and first win of any kind in several years. She also qualified for and played on the Solheim Cup team, where she notched a win in singles and a tie in a team match

Kim had a terrible 2012 season. She only made $38,000 all year, with a tie for 49th her best result. She admitted to the press that she was suffering from clinical depression, which made focusing on golf difficult. Her 110th place finish on the money list dropped her down to category 16 status on tour for 2013. She also played three events on the European tour but earned just 9,400 euro over there.

Christina focused on the LPGA in 2013. She ended up making about $126,000 and finishing 76th on the money list, just good enough to regain a full tour card. Her best finish was an 11th at the North Texas LPGA Shootout.

Christina had a much better 2014 season. She notched three top tens and finished 27th on the money list with over half a million dollars in earnings. She even managed to win an event, something she hadn't done since 2005. Her win came at the year's second-to-last tournament, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico. She got off to a great start and steadfastly hung in or near the lead all week. She made $200K for that win.

Christina made $234K in 2015, which enabled her to finish 69th on the money list and maintain her full status on tour. She had one top ten during the season, a tie for 8th at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in defense of her crown. Weirdly, despite the fact she was the defending champ, she had to be invited to participate in the tournament, as she did not automatically qualify. Her other notable finish in 2015 was a tie for 11th at the year's first Major, the ANA Inspiration.

Christina had a pretty good season in 2016. She finished 45th on the money list with around $411,000 earned. Her best finish came at the Volvik Championship, where she finished solo second on the back of a first round 64. She had a 4th and a tie for 6th as her other notable finishes.

2017 was a lesser year for Christina. Her best finish was a tie for 13th in New Zealand, and she finished 87th on the money list with around $150,000 earned. This dropped her status for 2018 to category 11, but that was still be good enough to get her into most fields.

In 2018, Christina made about $121,000 and finished 94th on the money list. Her best finish was a tie for 17th. She maintained category 11 status for 2019. In 2019, she made just a hair under $80,000, finishing 117th on the money list. Her status dropped to category 14 for 2020.

In 2020, the whole world was rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic. The LPGA and KLPGA canceled and postponed many tournaments. Christina played well in Australia before the cancellations with back-to-back top tens. She only had one more top ten after the resumption, at the ShopRite. She made $167,000 for the year, finishing 67th on the money list.

Kim had a solid 2021 campaign. She finished 91st on the money list, which moved her up to category 11 for 2022. She earned about $150,000. Her best finish was a t-16th at the Pelican, her final event of the year, but that was almost much better: she put herself in contention, but had a 75 in the final round to fall out of the the top ten. She had two other top twenties as well.

Christina struggled in 2022. She made only $27,000 all year, missing all but five cuts. Her best finish was a t-35th. She fell to category 17 for 2023. That year she continued to struggle, earning $45,000 all year. She was not able to improve her category 17 status for 2024 despite attending Q-Series.