There are seven women with the last name Kim playing on the LPGA Tour this season, a group that ranges from Birdie, the winner of last summer’s U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, to Joo Mi, the winner of the season-opening SBS Open almost two weeks ago. However, there is only one Christina Kim. Not yet 22, the word once most often used to describe Christina was brash. Now she has made a name for herself with her game. Twice a winner on tour, Kim also was a key performer last fall, going 2-1-1 for the victorious U.S. Solheim Cup team. Still irrepressible, Kim – who has lost 25 pounds since the end of last season – chatted recently about how her lighter frame still carries a sizable amount of great expectations.
Anthony Cotton: Everyone I see talks about how you’ve become some sort of bombshell. How do you deal with that?
Christina Kim: I don’t do anything. I just snort and laugh about it. I’m still me.
AC: So what brought this on?
CK: I spent six weeks in Korea during the offseason. One of my goals was to lose weight and feel good about myself. Well, I’ve always felt good about myself, but I just wanted to try something new and just challenge myself to see if I could do it. And in Korea, I was on this really, really strict, stern program; it helped me feel like I was fighting a battle. I feel like I fought a war and won.
AC: So now it’s a matter of maintenance.
CK: Oh, no. I’m nowhere near where I want to be yet. I want to lose another 15 or 20 pounds or so. But I’ll take it at a slower pace. I don’t want to lose it all and have it all just pop back on.
AC: What has the reaction been from people on tour?
CK: It’s great. Last week I was able to practice more on a single day than anytime last year. No one recognized me. “Oh, look, there goes just another of the Korean players, woo hoo!” People say they’re stunned or so proud, but to me, I don’t look any different. I feel like I’m the same person, but for some reason the clothes just fit differently.
AC: This season, Rosie Jones is hardly playing, Meg Mallon may not play as much, Beth Daniel is getting older. You’re not even 22, but you find yourself as an LPGA leader.
CK: I don’t think of myself as being one of the quote-unquote LPGA leaders. I’m not anywhere near qualified enough to be put on the same page as some of the players who are still out here, like Laura Diaz or Cristie Kerr or Juli Inkster, who’s still playing a lot out here. I don’t think I could dare call myself a leader of the tour. Annika (Sorenstam) is still going to be out here as much as she has the last few seasons, if I’m not mistaken. I’m not following, but I’m not leading. I’m just one of the people out here witnessing what’s going on with the tour.
AC: But the expectations, you have to admit, have grown around you.
CK: I don’t know. If I allowed myself to think that way I could see that, but I haven’t allowed myself to think that way. For me, it’s always been about just playing and trying to make sure I’m doing the best that I can. I’m not saying I wouldn’t help people out, because I would. I’m just saying I’m not going to think of myself as being “The Face of the LPGA.”
AC: What are your goals for this season?
CK: I’m looking forward to having a great year. I’m going to be chasing the top players and I’d like to have a couple of wins. Well, I have a set number, but it’s kind of ridiculous for some people to believe so I don’t want to say it. It’s my own personal thing.
AC: There’s a specific number you have in mind?
CK: Yes, I do.
AC: And you aren’t going to tell?
CK: No.
AC: Does it include a major championship?
CK: Yup. I would like to win a major this year. I would like to think that my game is solid enough that I could, and I’ve learned a lot about patience and a lot about determination after losing so much weight, so I think I’m closer to attaining that than I’ve ever been before.
AC: In terms of your career and the long haul, which was more important, winning again on tour (at the Tournament of Champions) or having the success you did in the Solheim Cup?
CK: It’s hard to say. Those two events were so different that it’s hard to say one was “better” or “more important” for my career. If I didn’t play in the Solheim, I don’t know if I would have won in Mobile. They were both so great for me that I don’t know if I could pick one over the other. It’s like asking which child is your most favorite. There’d better not be an answer for that.
AC: One of the things I was very curious about with the Solheim was the idea of developing camaraderie with a couple of players you’ve had issues with over the course of your career.
CK: No, maybe one. The stuff with Cristie (Kerr) was so long ago.
AC: You were squabbling at the U.S. Open.
CK: That was June!
AC: The point is, is everything cool nowadays?
CK: Yeah. The thing is I decided that, you know what? People are people so why should it be that you and I have to get along so awfully. No, really, they do what they do and I do what I do, and I like what I do. I don’t have to like what they do, but they like what they do. There’s no reason for me to do anything but respect that. The relationships have gotten a lot better. Part of that has to do with everyone just growing up more and just getting to know each other better and being more patient with one another.
AC: OK, last chance, what’s the magic number (of wins)?
CK: Cinco.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
