SOUTH PINES, NC – Karen Kim spent the first 12 years of her life in California, but then her family moved to South Korea, and at the age of 18, she turned professional. It thrived, at least at first, and quickly earned a spot on the LPGA’s Korea, and then on the Symetra Tour (now Epson Tour), the LPGA’s US feeding tour. Kim’s first year in America was a difficult one, and yet she suffered in eight out of 10 wounds, from anxiety and depression. She returned to Korea and began to feel better when she admitted to herself that golf was something she had wanted to do all her life – “it means a lot to me that it is just as important as family” – and that it’s okay to treat it as a major priority.
When she returned to the US, COVID had just arrived, and she spent time on development tours such as the Cactus Tour in Arizona, the All-Pro Women’s Tour (WAPT) and the East Coast Women’s Pro Tour (ECWPT). In those cases, there were more shortcuts than money; She earned less than $5,000 for making four consecutive top ten finals in 2020.
She made it to the second stage of the LPGA Q-school in 2021, and regained her spot on the Epson Tour, but in four events there this season, she’s earned less than $3,000 and ranks 116th on the money list (only the top ten earn LPGA status). Meanwhile, she’s moved from her father’s Texas home, and lives with a friend because she has no sponsors or financial support (other friends helped her out at the start of the year, but personal tangles put an end to the relationship). All expenses are now out of her pocket, and she has to rely on generosity when she can. Her can of the week, for example, is a family-friendly who works for free and insists she buys all her meals.
Despite all this, Kim has an irrepressible energy as she pursues a professional career. Speaking before her first U.S. Women’s Championship this week at Pine Needles, she described herself as the most “flexible” character in the game — she could get along with anyone. When asked about the bejeweled Queen of Hearts clip she wore on her hat, she said, “I think I’m the Queen of Hearts. I love pretty things and being the boss… Ms. We say it in appropriate terms.”
Late in the conversation, what appears to be an obvious question is asked: Has she set herself a schedule for how long she can do it? Is there a point where she has to give up her dream? However, the way it was posed was baffling, and when Kim heard the word “timeline,” her eyes lit up.
She said, “Yes, I do.” “If I understand what you’re talking about, I’d like to have my LPGA card by this year, and my goal is to become a celebrity celebrity by 2035.”
I said, “Let’s see, this is 13? Cool.”
“I think I’m a good ****,” she said. “I’m almost 23, a week ago. I’m here. Why not?”
Kim qualified for the US Women’s Open by shooting 70-69 at the clubs at the Houston Oaks, then successfully played a 4v3 playoff. Now that she’s in Pine Needles, there’s a massive opportunity waiting for her – this year’s event with a staggering 10 million purse. dollar. This kind of money presents great opportunities for someone like Kim; If she were to rank 60, for example – last place among those who made the cut – she would still be making more money (around $20,000) than she made in her entire career. If it’s going to end up more than that, he might fund it for a year or more. The possibilities are transformative
“There was kind of a shared vision of what we wanted to do with the championship,” said John Bodani, USGA chief commercial officer, of the huge 2022 portfolio. “And to be able to really make a statement and create that wow factor, so to speak. We could have hit eight [million] And I’m still the top major in the game, even seven times, and I just felt like that wasn’t enough, that we really wanted to create the kind of stage these women deserve.”
John Bodenhammer, chief tournament officer, said players like Kim on the smaller rounds factored in their decision when they pursued the $10 million figure.
“They certainly do,” he said. “Our DNA has to be open. You win your way… you get your ball in the hole, you get to play… There are so many great stories about the players who were on those development rounds that made their way, because it’s life changing.”
Marielle Galdiano, 23, is playing her fifth in the US Women’s Open after scoring an impressive second-round 65 to win her Medal of Honor in her qualifying spot in Florida. It’s her first as a professional after an outstanding amateur (two-time Curtis Cup player) and a college career (UCLA All-American), and the years since her graduation have been a tough battle through the developmental tours.
“It’s a grinding process,” she said. “We all go out week after week and wear the same clothes for the fifth time.”
Galdiano is from Hawaii, and for a while she’s been going back and forth from there to the leagues in the south and east. Finally, a year ago, she moved to Orlando, where she lives with her aunt to help save money. She’s made several top 10 spots in WAPT and ECWPT in the past two years, but her total career earnings have been just shy of $20,000. Her dad is her caddy, which saves some expenses, and she works various part-time jobs in the golf industry to make money in the off-season. However, in order to achieve success at the highest levels, she knows that most of her time must be spent playing and practicing. And while doing this, you will inevitably lose money so that you can reach higher levels through the qualified school.
Developmental Tours are a recent addition to the women’s golf scene, and founders like Mark Berman, who started ECWPT after watching his daughter struggle to find a course in the professional game, are in the business of creating upper fairways for the Epson Tour. There is little money, but according to Berman, 70 percent of the players on his tour take second jobs, and the struggle to pay for hotels, gas money and various other expenses can become a huge deal. Even winning one of these events may yield only $10,000 – a good payday, but not enough to survive long, considering the cost of living, training and travel.
“These girls are exceptional players,” Berman wrote in an email. “Most of them have a real chance of making it to the LPGA Tour. They just have to get past the time and money, which makes opportunities like the USWO so valuable to them on so many levels.”
At this year’s US Open, the salary for all players was $8000 – even those who missed the cuts. That’s massive in itself, and it might take some pressure off players like Galdiano. However, she knows how big this size is; Even if she makes a cut, it could start the Epson run.
“It’s an understatement to call it just another tournament,” she said. “That’s not what it is. I definitely see a huge opportunity for me to really change my career.”
At the same time, Galdiano told me it’s easy to collapse in on herself while battling through minor golf leagues, and that she’s been in low places where she’s questioned her career, and whether golf is really what she wants to do.
She said, “It sounds dramatic, but sometimes you feel like you’re a bad shot away from ending your career.”
This week, though, she and several others from the developmental run are several good rounds away from the opposite: of escaping the grind and taking a giant step toward a dream that seems a long way off. Money was a major title at this year’s US Women’s Open, but $10 million is more than a big number — it’s a way, for players like Kim and Galdiano, to turn something imaginary into something tangible.