MANSFIELD — St. Peter’s freshman Chaeyeon Kim is soft-spoken and quiet by nature.
But when she steps on the golf course, her game speaks volumes.
Her nickname is Joy, and that is exactly what she feels on the golf course. Especially after Kim recently became the first St. Peter’s girls golf state qualifier in school history when she shot a 36-40-76 at the Division II district tournament at Sycamore Springs Golf Course. She earned runner-up medalist honors and grabbed the first individual qualifying spot in the tournament.
Kim moved to Columbus with her family last year from Korea, and while she is still navigating the English language, she speaks fluent golf.
“My dad really likes golf,” Kim said. “So, I started playing when I was 10 years old when I was living in Korea. I would practice every single day and play in tournaments in Korea.”
In Korea, Kim attended a middle school that is world-renowned for golf. Instead of schoolwork, Kim’s homework was hitting thousands of balls on the range and spending hours on the putting greens. When she arrived in America, she didn’t hesitate to put her skills to the test. She made her first appearance in the Richland County Junior Golf Tournament in July, and she took second overall in the girls division with an impressive two-day, 36-hole score of 84-75-159 at Twin Lakes Golf Course and Oak Tree Golf Course.
And she is flourishing. At the Division II sectional tournament at Valley View, Kim took medalist honors shooting a 40-42-82. The score didn’t sit well with her at the time but was still good enough to advance in the postseason.
“I am always practicing, so I have that expectation of myself,” Kim said. “I live in Columbus and play at North Star a lot and take lessons from my swing coach. I practice every day after school for two hours, so I put in the work.”
St. Peter’s golf coach Nathan Sims sees firsthand how much work Kim puts into her game.
“She has a lot of natural talent and dedication to the sport,” Sims said. “She can definitely play at the college level, no doubt about it. We cannot claim any credit for her ability. She did that on her own and is a very impressive player. Her consistency sets her apart. I have high hopes for the state tournament.”
With a fierce competitiveness and a calm, cool and collected demeanor, Sims believes Kim has what it takes to make it very far in the sport.
“When I watch her, she has an uncanny way of naturally reading the course,” Sims said. “She knows exactly how the ball is going to behave on every single shot and on every single green. Once you have been playing the game long enough and practice as much as she does, that is what develops.
“It is pretty cool just to watch her work as hard as she does. She does what is required in order to succeed at a high level in this sport, and she is only going to keep getting better.”
Kim is still adjusting to the school side of things in America, but golf is coming naturally. She is in her first year in an American school system and the life of an American student-athlete is completely different than in Korea.
“In Korea, we didn’t study school,” Kim said. “We just practiced golf. Eight hours a day, every day, it was all about golf. In the US, it is so different than Korea because I have to do my homework and schoolwork and then go practice golf.”
Just a freshman, Kim is the only Richland County golfer to qualify for the state tournament and if she keeps improving over the next three years, the sky is the limit.
“I want to go to college here, and golf is a great way to get into a good college,” Kim said. “My dad went to Boston College so I would love to play golf there.”
But before she can head to the East Coast, Kim has a huge opportunity in front of her in the form of the Division II state tournament. She will tee it up at the famous Firestone Country Club’s Fazio Course in Akron on Sunday, Oct. 13 and Monday, Oct. 14.
“I am so happy just to have the opportunity,” Kim said. “I have seen pictures of Firestone, so it is going to be really cool to play there.”
jfurr@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: St. Peter’s Joy Kim first female state golf qualifier in program history
