A well-played Spotify song list and the ever-reliable WAZE app are proving lifesavers for Avondale’s Grace Kim as she treks across the southern United States.
After a couple of weeks break, Kim has just begun a swing of tournaments which will culminate with the US Women’s Amateur in just under a month at the Westchester Country Club in upstate New York.
After a thrilling top-10 finish at the Prasco Charity Championship in Cincinnati, Ohio, The NSW and Australian Women’s Amateur Champion is back racking up miles on the Interstates of Texas and Mississippi, chasing a second win on the Women’s All-Pro Tour (WAPT).
First up is the Texarkana Children’s Charites Open in Texarkana, followed by the Taco Bell Natches Golf Classic in Mississippi, then the Babe Zaharias Open back in Beaumont, Texas, before returning to Dallas to Jet off to New York.
All up, it’s about 1200km of bitumen and 15 hours behind the wheel; quite an effort for a 20-year-old travelling alone and chasing her dream.
“I’m already sick of my songs in one drive,” Kim Grinned. “And most of the top hits on the radio nowdays are well, meeeh.”
Kim’s playlist contains a swag of artists including Post Malone, Dua Lipa, The Kid Laroi, The Weeknd, and a couple of familiar names in Ariana Grande and the Jonas Brothers.
“I grew up with a lot of K-Pop, but now I’m into just the normal pop songs that come out on the radio, or some rap.”
And in a nod to the fact she is deep in the heart of US beef country, Kim admitted to developing a liking for some more local tunes.
“I’ve gotta add in some country music too! I do like country here and there.”
The WAPT is a bit of a happy hunting ground for Kim, and with exemptions into Symetra Tour events guaranteed to the top two placegetters at each of the following three events, competition is fierce.
Kim’s goal however is not as much to snare more Symetra starts but to ensure she finishes high enough up the WAPT points list to secure her place in Stage Two of the LPGA Tour School.
“If I win a spot and it clashes with the three WAPT events I’m committed to, I’m going to pass the Symetra start,” Kim explained. “The whole point of me playing these tournaments is to get inside the top five of the Race to Stage Two, that the WAPT offers, then I would be able to skip stage One of Q-school in the hot Palm Springs in August.”
