Player Biography

JIMIN KANG Birthdate: January 28, 1980 Birthplace: Seoul, Korea Age: 27 Ht: 5'6" Home: Scottsdale, Ariz. College: Arizona State Turned Professional: 2002
Joined LPGA Tour: 2003 LPGA Tour Wins: 1 - 2005 Corning LPGA Classic Player Notes: Runner-up at 1999 U.S. Women’s Amateur to Dorothy Delasin…American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Rolex All-American selection in 1996…Was an AJGA Rolex All-American honorable-mention selection in 1999, the same year she was named the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) Amateur Player of the Year. In 1998, she was the PNGA Junior Player of the Year and won titles at the Orange Bowl International Junior Golf Championships, the PING Junior Championships and the Polo Golf Junior Championships. In 1999, Kang won the WIAA state and district championships and the Washington Women's Amateur Championship…Qualified to play in the 1999 SAFECO Classic in Kent, Wash., where she threw out the first pitch at a Seattle Mariners game at SAFECO Field during tournament week. As a freshman at Arizona State University, she was a second-team All-Pac-10 selection for the 2000-01 season and earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors the following year after winning the 2002 Pac-10 Championship. She also won the 2001 New Mexico State Intercollegiate and recorded 10 top-10 finishes in two years of college competition. In 2001, she won the PNGA Women's Amateur Championship. She was a National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) First-Team All-America for the 2001-02 season and was a member of the West All-Regional Team in 2001-02. In July 2002, turned professional; as a competitor on the Futures Tour, won the M&T Bank Loretto Futures Golf Classic and finished fourth at the Betty Puskar Futures Golf Classic; tied for 24th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn non-exempt status for the 2003 season…Started playing golf at the age of 13...Credits God, her mother, her brother David, her grandmother, coach Jim Flick and Perry Edinger for most influencing her career...Hobbies include working out, jogging, playing the flute, listening to music, talking on the phone, eating and playing with her dog Angel. Professional 2006 • Recorded a season-best finish with a tie for ninth at the LPGA Takefuji Classic, where she carded a season-low 67 in the opening round. • Also carded a 67 in the second round of the Florida’s Natural Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez and in the opening round of the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill. • Tied for 16th at the Longs Drugs Challenge. 2006 Stats (rank) Rds under par: 25/54 (29) Rds in the 60s: 12/54 (29) Birdies: 163 (92) Eagles: 3 (51) Greens in reg: 67.2% (52) Driving accuracy: 75.2% (30) Sand saves: 39.4% (62) Putts per GIR: 1.86 (124) Driving avg: 252.7 (69) 2005 • Became the third Rolex First-Time Winner of the season at the LPGA Corning Classic, where she recorded her first LPGA career hole-in-one during the final round. • Followed up her first career victory with a tie for seventh at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, where she carded a career-low 62 in the final round; set an LPGA 9-hole, raw score record with a 27 during the third round. • Recorded her second career LPGA hole-in-one during the first round of the State Farm Classic. • Also finished tied for 19th at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill. 2005 Stats (rank) Rds under par: 21/75 (69) Rds in the 60s: 13/75 (43) Birdies: 237 (30) Eagles: 4 (23) Greens in reg: 68.3% (39) Driving accuracy: 77.2% (32) Sand saves: 39% (56) Putts per GIR: 1.83 (62) Driving avg: 251.2 (40) 2004 Highlights • Recorded eight top-10 finishes, including two wins, on the Futures Tour and topped the Futures Tour money list, earning 2004 Futures Tour Player of the Year honors and exempt status for the 2005 LPGA Tour. Career Highlights • In 2003, carded a career-low 69 during the third round of the Longs Drugs Challenge; tied for 33rd at the CJ Nine Bridges Classic Presented by Sports Today; returned to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, where she tied for 42nd to retain non-exempt status for the 2004 season. • In July 2002, turned professional; as a competitor on the Futures Tour, won the M&T Bank Loretto Futures Golf Classic and finished fourth at the Betty Puskar Futures Golf Classic; tied for 24th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn non-exempt status for the 2003 season.