HA NEUL KIM

Ha Neul finished the year with 15 top tens and was third on the tour money list with nearly 400 million won in earnings. She ended the year at the KLPGA Awards Show by being one of five top stars to perform a dance number (!) for the attendees.

2009 was not as good a season for Ha Neul. She struggled with her swing plane, and as a result was far more inconsistent off the tee. She did not win in 2009, but still collected 7 top tens and finished 7th on the money list. She also played a couple of LPGA events, but did not make the cut at the SBS Open or Kraft Nabisco, and finished in the top 30 at the Hana Bank Championship.

Ha Neul struggled far more in the 2010 season, although there was light towards the end. She only finished 21st on the money list, despite three top four finishes. But she played well in one of the latter events of the year, and at the first event of the 2011 season, she contended all week and finished second.

Signs were good that Ha Neul was about to have a comeback season, and in 2011, she more than delivered on that promise. At the next event in April, Kim finished 8th. One week later, she returned to the winner's circle for the first time in more than two years. Kim continued to play well by and large after that, notching a few top tens here and there, but also missing a few cuts. She also claimed a 13th place finish at the Hana Bank, her best ever LPGA result, in that stretch. Through it all, she stayed near the top of the KLPGA money list, and when she caught fire again towards the end of the year, it was with an inferno-like intensity.

Her first big salvo came at the Hite Cup, the year's third Major. So Yeon Ryu was the current money list leader, and also the US Women's Open winner from a few months earlier. She took a share of the lead for the first two days. But a rules infraction in round 3 knocked her down, and an unknown amateur rose up. By the middle of round four, the amateur, In Ji Jeon, climbed to a three shot lead and looked poised for the win. But then the wheels came off for her, and after a late triple bogey, Ha Neul Kim, who had lingered all day, suddenly found herself near the lead. Soon thereafter, Kim had her first Major victory!

From that point on, Kim went from triumph to triumph the rest of the season. She finished second at the year's final Major, the KB Financial Star Championship; then won her third title of the year at the EDaily KYJ Golf Women's Open; then lost a grueling 7 hole playoff to Young Ran Jo at the final event of the year. To cap everything off, she won an unofficial all-star event a few weeks after that.

Three wins, an unofficial win, over 500 million won earned: Kim's 2011 season had been a smashing success. She claimed her first money list title, won Player of the Year, and was even voted Most Popular player by the fans. She dominated the awards at the KLPGA Award Show, the KLPGA's new Queen.

Kim started 2012 almost as hot as she had finished 2011. At her first tournament of the year, the RACV Australian Ladies Masters, she shot three closing rounds of 65-64-67 to very nearly capture the trophy, finishing tied for second. It was her best ever finish outside of the KLPGA tour. She managed a 24th and 20th in her next two LPGA events, then just missed her first career LPGA top ten when she finished tied for 11th at the year's first Major, the Kraft Nabisco. So far so good.

Ha Neul played well during the first half of the KLPGA season, notching four top fives among her finishes, but no wins. Meanwhile, she was overshadowed by the emergence of Char Young Kim, who won twice, and 16 year old amateur sensation Hyo Joo Kim, who absolutely smoked the field at the Lotte Mart Women's Open. But in the second half of the year, Kim's relentless consistency moved her towards the top in all the tour standings. By the time she won her only victory of the season, at the Rush & Cash Charity Classic, she was tops on the money list, Player of the Year standings and scoring average.

Kim only had three KLPGA events outside of the top 20 all season, while notching 10 top tens (one win, two seconds, three thirds among them). She wound up winning the money list for the second straight year, with nearly 459 million won earned, and also captured her first scoring average title, with a 71.55 stroke average. But she just missed out on the Player of the Year; she held a slim lead over Je Yoon Yang much of the final few events, but at the year's final tournament, Yang won the trophy, and with it the Player of the Year.

Besides her KLPGA success, Kim also notched her best Major finish at the Nabisco and best LPGA finish, a tie for 7th, at the KEB Hana Bank Championship. She played in the Korea-Japan Team Competition, where she had one win and one loss.

She played two events at the end of 2012, making a 9th at the Swinging Skirts and a 10th at the Hyundai China Ladies Open. It was a promising start for her 2013 season. But alas, things did not go so well when the season started in earnest. She played decently at the Mission Hills World Ladies Championship in China, teaming with Inbee Park to take the team trophy. She also won the Best Dressed trophy, earning more than a million votes from Chinese fans online.

Ha Neul also played the Kia Classic, where she finished 13th, and the Kraft Nabisco, where she didn't do so well. The KLPGA season started after that, but Kim surprisingly struggled. In the first half of the year, she missed several cuts and had no top tens. It suddenly looked very unlikely that the two-time KLPGA money list queen was even going to be a factor in 2013.

Fortunately, she righted the ship in a big way by playing overseas. Invited to play at the US Women's Open at Sebonack in late June, she surprised everyone by leading the field after day 1 by shooting a 6 under par 66. She slipped down the leaderboard after that, but still finished a very respectable tied for 25th. Her results reinvigorated her, and she even talked about going to LPGA Q-School in the Fall (if she was unable to win a tournament and get an LPGA card that way, of course).

Her return to Korea in August saw her playing much better. After an 11th place finish, she won her only event of 2013 at the MBN Kim Young Joo Golf Women's Open, and she did it by shooting a lights out 63 in the final round. She also had a 2nd place finish at the KDB and the year's final event, the Chosun Ilbo Posco Championship. In the end, she finished 11th on the money list with more than 290 million won earned.

She did not, however, get to go to Q-School. As it turned out, she was the defending champion at the Rush and Cash Charity Classic the week before Q-School sectionals. KLPGA rules stipulate that a player must defend all titles or face penalties. Kim felt she could not prepare for qualifying if she had to fly in a day beforehand, so she skipped qualifying for another year. It was a bad break for her and all her fans who want to see her compete on the LPGA.

Ha Neul had a frustrating year on the KLPGA in 2014. She played well, notching five total runner-up finishes, but she was not able to get a win. Her form started early, with a second place behind Ha Na Jang at the Hyundai China Ladies Open. A few months later, she played brilliantly at the Doosan Match Play, downing top stars In Gee Chun in the quarters and Yoon Kyung Heo in the semis. But she never had a chance against surprise finalist Sul Ah Yoon, and lost 4 & 3

The next week, Ha Neul was again in the hunt at the E1 Charity Open, but Heo made a clutch par save, Kim missed one, and that was that. After another runner up against Jung Min Lee at the Volvik, Kim found herself in an epic battle against In Gee Chun at the KDB Daewoo Financial Classic. Forcing a playoff, Kim hit an approach from the middle of the fairway too short, and it rolled back into the water. Runner up finish #5.

Ha Neul ended the year with 9 top tens and more than 451 million won earned. She finished 9th on the year ending money list. After eight years on tour, Kim finally decided to leave following the 2014 season. She went to Japanese tour Qualifying School, earning a card for 2015.

Ha Neul Kim did not have a great start to her JLPGA career. Other than a couple of top twenties early, she did not really making a mark until she contended at the JLPGA's second Major, the Konica Minolta Cup. Theresa Lu won that one, but Ha Neul finished with her first career top five. The very next week, she broke through with her only win of 2015 at the Munsingwear Ladies Tokai Classic.

In total, Ha Neul had four top tens and made about 42 and a half million yen, which placed her 23rd on the year ending money list.

Ha Neul also played several KLPGA events in 2015, but did not notch any wins. She seriously contended at the Toto Classic, the LPGA's only event in Japan, but wound up tied for 6th, one of her best career LPGA finishes.

Ha Neul started her 2016 JLPGA campaign with a bang, notching top tens in her first three starts. She actually had the 36 hole lead in two of the events, but both times shot a final round 74 and did not win the trophy. Her first win of the season came right after that. Kim continued to play brilliantly the rest of the year, notching a second win, and her first Major, at the year's final event, the Ricoh Cup. In total, she had a mind blowing 18 top tens for the year, including the two wins, four runner-ups, two more thirds, and 12 total top fives. She earned nearly 129 million yen for the year, good for fourth on the money list. Her success led to her becoming super popular in Japan, where she has started to frequently appear on magaine covers. Other than Bo Mee Lee, she might be the most popular foreign golfer over there.

Ha Neul also played at the Hite Cup in Korea, and seriously contended for the title before winding up third.

Ha Neul broke through on the JLPGA in a big way in the 2017 season. For much of the year she led the money list and Player of the Year standings, but faded towards the end. She still finished 4th on the money list with over 121 million yen earned. Her popularity exploded as well in Japan; by the end of the season she was probably the most popular player on the JLPGA, eclipsing even her friend Bo Mee Lee, who had an off-season. She even released a photo book of herself for her Japanese fans.

Kim collected three wins during the year, including another Major, the Salonpas Cup. She had an additional 12 top tens, including a couple of runner-up results. In addition, she played the Hite Cup on the KLPGA and finished 8th. She also played the US Women's Open, but missed the cut.

At the end of the season, Ha Neul captained the KLPGA team at the Kowa Queens Cup. They finished second to the Japanese. Ha Neul won 1 team match and lost one, while winning her singles match against the UK's Mel Reid.

Ha Neul focused on the Japanese tour in 2018, but also played a couple events elsewhere. In Japan, she slumped: she finished just 29th on the money list, with slightly less than 40 million yen earned. She didn't win, but did have a runner up finish and a total of five top tens. She also played once in Korea, at the Hite Cup, where she finished 26th; and at the LPGA's Tournament in Thailand, the Honda, where she finished tied for 34th.

Ha Neul Kim had another weak season on the JLPGA tour in 2019. She finished just 56th on the money list, with only 20 million yen earned. She had only one top ten all year, a tie for 8th. She played just one KLPGA event, the Hite Jinro, where she finished 27th.

In 2020, the world was hit with the Covid19 pandemic. All sports leagues, including the LPGA and KLPGA, were massively affected by it; many events were canceled or shifted around the schedule, and fans were forbidden from attending. Ha Neul played relatively few events all year. She played just two events on the KLPGA, one of which was rain shortened to just one round. She made just 106 thousand won, about $100. She played just four events in Japan, with her best finish a tie for 6th.

Kim also played for the LPGA in the annual KLPGA/LPGA team event, the OrangeLife Champions Trophy. She teamed with MJ Hur to tie Ji Hyun Oh and Ye Rim Choi, and beat Choi in singles 1 up. The KLPGA won the event 10.5 - 7.5.

Ha Neul decided to make 2021 her final year as a touring pro. In Japan, she finished the combined 2020-21 season 81st on the money list with nearly 18 million yen earned. She wasn't able to win one final time, but she did manage a tie for third at the Fujifilm Studio Alice Open. She then played her final event in Korea in November, the SK Telecom, where she finished 72nd, and officially retired.

Ha Neul had a great career which included a KLPGA Player of the Year award and a stint as one of the most popular players on the Japanese tour. She intends to work on her YouTube Channel, but she has already appeared in a made-for-TV screen golf competition, and she will probably do more of that. In March, 2022, she teamed with Hyun Ju Yoo to represent Korea in that screen golf match. They played teams from Japan and China (each playing in a screen golf facility in their home countries). Korea won!

Here's hoping she enjoys her retirement and we still get to see lots of her as she pursues her other interests!