Grace Kim is the latest major champion of Golf – she won the championship in an epic way.
Kim stood on the fairway on the 18th hole of Evian Resort’s stroke 5, Kim stood on the lead of Jeeno Thitikul and shot two shots. Between 190 yards between her and the flagpole, King knew she needed something special to keep her hopes of her first major champion well.
Her next swing gave that necessity – and then some.
King held the hybrid and the ball under his feet to hit the lifelong shot, as her ball bounced over the pin and then rolled back and down into the foot of the cup to place a relaxed tap eagle to push her score to 14.
However, King’s drama is far from complete.
The 24-year-old approach found danger near the green on the first playoff hole. Again, her main squid wish hangs in a thread. King again managed to deliver in the best possible way.
This time, her wedges provide fireworks. In the free throw area, the young Australian was able to maintain solid contact on the ball and bounce on the green and then go into the hole to make the playoffs stretch the incredible birdie.
“I said to myself and the caddie, I have nothing else to lose,” King said. “That chip, yes, don’t know. That just happened.”
King entered again through the clutch during the following playoff hole. After splitting the fairway with a drive, she pulled 4 hybrids out of the bag and released another epic way, this time watching her ball within 15 feet of the cup.
A moment later, Kim Jong Il spoke to the ball and hit the most important putter of her life. It never left the center of the cup.
“I can’t breathe,” King said. “I can’t really see it. Am I like straightforward? Yes. I hit the putt. Glad it went into the hole.”
With the victory, King became the fifth Australian woman to win the Major, joining Jan Stephenson, Kelly Webber, Hannah Green and Meggie Lee, who won her third major title last month at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“I started the week and said things that were worried really doubting my preparations, my work, the work my team did,” King said. “I was really just trying to support myself in four rounds, obviously I never had – I don’t think I’ve ever shot this week like I did, so the mentality worked.”
If she could keep that mentality, it probably wouldn’t be the last time we saw Kim deliver on the biggest stage.
