Finally, exempt on LPGA: Nease graduate Auston Kim plays for the first time with a card
Nease graduate and 2016 Times-Union girls high school player of the year Auston Kim has played on big stages in the past, such as two Women's U.S. Opens and the Augusta National Invitational.
But Kim will play in an LPGA event with a different status this week at The Annika — she's now an exempt player.
Kim qualified for the LPGA by winning the Epson Tour Championship last month with a record score of 23-under 265. She bounced back from an opening 71 to torch the LPGA International Jones Course with rounds of 64-65-65 to win by two shots and finish third in the Epson Tour money list, earning her Tour card.
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Kim will join players such as Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson and Nelly Korda in this week's event at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleaire.
"I'm really ecstatic about all the hard work I put in, mentally, physical, all the weeks grinding out here working my hardest," Kim said after winning the Tour Championship and a $37,500 first-place check, giving her $119,882 for the season. "I feel really proud of myself and my family for helping me do everything to get this."
Kim, 23, who also is a member of the St. Johns Golf and Country Club, was All-SEC and an academic All-SEC at Vanderbilt. Her sister August, who is on the Epson Tour, was All-Big Ten at Purdue.
Auston Kim jumped from 15th on the Epson Tour money list with the victory. She made 17 of 21 cuts this season and had 10 top-10 finishes.
The final Epson Tour money leader was 2019 U.S. Amateur champion Gabriela Ruffels, with $159,926. She was the first female player to enter the Jacksonville Area Golf Association Amateur Championship in 2020.
Crunch time on PGA Tour
There are two more tournaments left in "FedEx Cup Fall," this week in Bermuda and next week at the Sea Island Club on St. Simons Island, Ga., for the RSM Classic.
That means two more chances for players on two levels to improve their lot:
Finish between No. 51 and 60 on the final points list and qualify for the "Signature Events," at Pebble Beach and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, which offer $20 million purses and 700 FedEx Cup points for the winners.
Finish among the top-125 on the points list and retain their PGA Tour cards for the 2024 season.
Stephen Jaeger is on the No. 60 bubble and C.T. Pan is at No. 125.
Among First Coast and South Georgia players who need to make a move in the next two weeks are Keith Mitchell (68th) and Davis Thompson (74th) of St. Simons Island, and David Lingmerth (92nd), Billy Horschel (106th) and Tyson Alexander (116th) of Ponte Vedra Beach.
On the outside of the top 125 are Patton Kizzire of St. Simons Island (126th), Carl Yuan of Jacksonville (134th), Trey Mullinax of St. Simons (137th) and Russell Knox of Jacksonville Beach (143rd).
Boston team added to TGL
Boston is the latest team added to the TGL Golf League, a virtual golf series in which players will compete in a simulator in Palm Beach Gardens on Monday nights from January to March.
Vermont native Keegan Bradley, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and Tyrrell Hatton will represent "Boston Common Golf," which is owned by the Fenway Sports Group. Teams also represented Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and South Florida but all of them will play in the simulator.
Events will be 15 holes with a combination of alternate shot and head-to-head stroke play. Prize money amounts haven't been released yet.
The league was started by McIlroy and Tiger Woods but McIlroy emphasized in a news conference in Boston that it was not meant to compete against the PGA Tour.
“This wasn’t adversarial at all,” McIlroy said during the news conference, held at Fenway Park. “This is meant to be complimentary. We’re not trying to replace traditional golf here. I think there’s a place for everything.”
Bradley for one, is pumped up at the prospect of representing a Boston athletic team — even though it won't play in Boston.
“I grew up as a kid wanting to play for the Boston Red Sox, the New England Patriots, the Boston Bruins,” said Bradley, who is married to the niece of former Red Sox icon Carlton Fisk. “That was never in the cards for me. I was better at golf than anything else; I never thought I would have the chance to play for my home city."
TGL's 250,000-square-foot facility will have grass tees and rough, real sand and three virtual greens with slope that can change to create variety. It can hold about 1,600 spectators, who will be encouraged to cheer during shots.
Thomas, Homa playing in South Africa
PGA Tour veterans Justin Thomas and Max Homa are in the field for this week's DP World Tour NedBank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa.
The tournament is at the Gary Player Country Club and is the final chance for DP World Tour members to get into the top-50 on the money list and qualify for the DP World Championship next week in Dubai. Tommy Fleetwood is the defending champion but hasn't won on either side of the Atlantic since then.
The Nos. 1 and 2 players on the Race to Dubai, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, are not playing but are in the field for Dubai.
PGA TOUR
Event: Butterfield Bermuda Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Port Royal Golf Club, Southampton, Bermuda.
At stake: $6.5 million purse ($1,170,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner.
Defending champion: Seamus Power.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 1-4 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.).
Area players entered: Tyson Alexander, Chris Baker, Jonas Blixt, Jonathan Byrd, Lanto Griffin, Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox, David Lingmerth, Doc Redman, Carl Yuan.
Notable: Power topped Thomas Detry by one shot last year. … There are two more events remaining in FedEx Cup Fall for players to improve their points standing for next season. The RSM Classic at the Sea Island Club is next week. … Past major champions Stewart Cink, Jason Dufner, Lucas Glover and Adam Scott lead the field.
LPGA TOUR
Event: The Annika, Thursday-Sunday, Pelican Golf Club, Belleair.
At stake: $3.25 million purse ($487,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Nelly Korda.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2-4 p.m.).
Area players entered: Auston Kim.
Notable: Korda shot 64 in the final round and beat Lexi Thompson by one shot. … Kim, a Nease graduate, past Times-Union high school player of the year and winner of the Epson Tour Championship, is playing her first LPGA event as an exempt player.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Event: Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Phoenix Country Club.
At stake: $3 million purse ($450,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Padraig Harrington.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Sunday, 4-6:30 p.m.).
Area players entered: Vijay Singh.
Notable: Steve Stricker already has the Schwab Cup wrapped up so it’s a battle for second. … Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Steven Alker, Stephen Ames, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Bernhard Langer and David Toms are among the 36-player field.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Auston Kim cites hard work, mental and physical, with getting her to LPGA
