She’s just 19 but Hyo Joo Kim is already showing she’s ready for the big time after recording the lowest ever round at a major championship.
The South Korean star hit an astonishing 61 in the opening round of the Evian Championship on Thursday to break the previous women’s record by one-shot and the men’s best by two.
Kim led Australia’s Karrie Webb by four shots going into Friday’s action on the course where she finished fourth as an amateur two years ago.
Her round included 10 birdies as she surpassed the previous record set by Minea Blomqvist and Lorena Ochoa.
“I like hard courses, so I like it,” said Kim. “I felt comfortable.”
While Kim enjoyed a stellar day on the course, U.S Open champion Michelle Wie endured a difficult time after being forced to quit after just 13 holes.
Wie, who only returned to action last week after a month out with a finger injury, suffered a recurrence of the problem.
“I was out there and I knew I should have stopped earlier but I was having so much fun out there I wanted to keep playing.
“But it got to the point where it was too painful. So I just made the smart decision to not play.”
