| Birdie Kim 김주연 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kim before 2009 Women's British Open | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Birdie Kim |
| Born | 26 August 1981 Iksan, South Korea |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Sporting nationality |  South Korea |
| Spouse | Bae Gyu Lee (m.2007) |
| Career | |
| College | Korea University |
| Turned professional | 2000 |
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 2004) |
| Former tour(s) | Symetra Tour (2001–03, 2012) |
| Professional wins | 4 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| LPGA Tour | 1 |
| Epson Tour | 3 |
| Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 1) | |
| Chevron Championship | T45: 2006 |
| Women's PGA C'ship | T25: 2007 |
| U.S. Women's Open | Won: 2005 |
| Women's British Open | CUT: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 |
| Evian Championship | DNP |
Medal record | |
Birdie Kim (Korean: 김주연; born Ju-Yun Kim 26 August 1981) is a South Korean professional golfer. Her career highlight is winning the 2005 U.S. Women's Open at Cherry Hills Country Club. In the last round, she was tied for the lead on the 18th hole with amateurs Morgan Pressel and Brittany Lang. Her second shot found a green-side bunker. She holed out from the bunker to take the lead and ultimately won by two strokes.
Kim won the 1998–99 Korea Junior Championship. She turned professional in November 2000 and joined the Futures Tour, which is the second-tier women's golf tour in the United States, in 2001. Her rookie season on the main LPGA Tour was 2004, and was not successful as she only made three cuts in 20 events, but she retained her tour card by finishing tied 12th at the Qualifying School. She did somewhat better in early 2005, and picked up her first top ten finish that May, but her victory at the U.S. Women's Open was totally unexpected.
She changed her first name to Birdie in 2004, in an effort to distinguish herself from the numerous other Korean golfers named Kim in the women's golf world in the minds of non-Koreans.[1] Kim is a common surname in Korea, especially on the LPGA Tour.
In 2005, Kim earned a total of $715,006 and came in 13th for LPGA season money position. She married fellow pro golfer Bae Kyu Lee in December 2007.
A 2009 car accident derailed Kim's career and she had trouble making cuts on the LPGA. In 2012, she played in 12 events on the Symetra Tour, finishing second on the money list. Kim last played an LPGA-sanctioned event in 2015. Like Janet Alex in 1982 and Hilary Lunke in 2003, the U.S. Open was her only LPGA Tour win.