A Lim Kim wore a mask all week at the U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston. Although the mask was an admirable bit of safety, it also seemed fitting as she stole the title with a trio of birdies to finish off a final-round 67 on Monday, winning by one over Jin Young Ko and Amy Olson.
Kim’s final round was a classic roller coaster ride that included a fast start with birdies coming at Nos. 5, 6 and 8, followed by a pair of deflating bogeys at Nos. 10 and 11 after she made the turn. Then Kim flushed her 5-iron tee shot at the 178-yard par-3 16th, setting up a birdie. She followed that with another solid iron that finished a foot from the hole at No. 17 and produced another birdie. Kim closed out round with a wedge shot from 119 yards on the 18th hole that ended up close enough for her to roll in still another birdie to take the lead. For the week, Kim was the only player to finish her round by birdieing those three holes.
Kim’s irons are a split set of Mizuno MP-66 and MP-18 irons, with the 66s serving as her 4- and 5-iron and the 18s for the rest of the set. The MP-66 is an Asian version based off the company’s MP-64 irons. Kim’s wedges are Titleist’s Vokey SM7 model, which she used the 48-degree to strike the approach on 18.
Kim’s putter is Odyssey’s O-Works 7S Black. The 7S model features a slight slant neck that changes the putter from a face-balanced orientation to one with 30 to 40 degrees of toe hang. Kim used the putter to make 16 birdies on the week, most in the field.
Which means Kim really didn’t steal the U.S. Women’s Open at all. She earned every bit of it.
What A Lim Kim had in the bag at the U.S. Women’s Open
Driver: Ping G425 LST, 8.5 degrees
3-wood: Ping G425 LST, 14.5 degrees
Hybrid: Ping G425, 19 degrees
Irons (4-5): Mizuno MP-66; (6-PW): Mizuno MP-18