Idaho golfer Michelle Kim hasn’t played in a NCAA event yet but she has already accomplished a lot heading into her freshman season.
Kim won the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at the Deer Park Golf Course in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, during the first week of August.
She had competed at the event previously but this was Kim’s first win at the championship.
“I was so excited,” Kim said. “It’s the biggest junior national tournament in Canada and I played it for maybe three years before I won.”
Kim said she hit the ball well off the tee.
“The course was pretty narrow,” Kim said. “It was really windy so I’d say I was really consistent off the tee which really gave me a big advantage.”
She said there were several good golfers in the field.
Kim finished 6-under-par at the championship and beat the second-place finisher by two strokes.
She said her experience at the Canadian Junior Championship will give her more confidence.
Kim has no relation to former Vandal golfer Leilanie Kim, even though they share the same last name and hometown — Surrey, British Columbia.
Michelle signed with Idaho in November.
“First of all, I really liked (coach) Lisa (Johnson),” Michelle said. “She really seemed to understand me and we were communicating really well whereas other coaches I didn’t really like. When I came for a visit in September (2014) I think, it was a really nice environment. Everyone was super nice.”
Michelle is majoring in business and even though she is just starting her collegiate golf career, she has her sights set on trying to make the LPGA tour when her Vandal career is over.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CabezaGarrett