GRACE KIM

Grace Kim was raised in the Sydney suburbs, the daughter of Korean-born parents. Her great amateur career saw her rise as high as 29th in the world. Among her titles was the 2017 Australian Girls Amateur and the 2021 Australian Women's Amateur. She also won the gold medal at the 2018 Junior Olympics in Buenos Aires.

She played one event on the Epson Tour in 2021, finishing tied for tenth. At the end of the year, she turned pro and joined the Epson Tour for 2022. She had a strong season, winning one event, notching four other top tens, and finishing fifth on the money list. This earned her category 9 status for the 2023 LPGA season.

In December, she returned to Australia and played the Australian Women's Open, where she contended all week. She was in fact tied for the lead coming into the final hole, but made some nervous mistakes and made a double bogey there to fall to 4th. But it was still a good sign that Grace will be a rookie to watch in 2023.

Grace had a strong rookie season, finishing second behind Hae Ran Ryu in the Rookie race. In just her third event in Hawai, the Lotte Championship, she won a playoff with KLPGA star Yu Jin Sung and got a chance to do the victory hula dance. She had a strong summer with mostly top 20 finishes, including a 14th at the KPMG and a T-13th at the US Women's Open at Pebble Beach.

In the end, she finished 29th on the money list with around $960,000 earned. This moved her into category 1 status for 2024.

She also played the Australian Women's Open at the end of the year, finishing tied for 7th.