DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Vanderbilt University alum Auston Kim tied her career-low round on the Epson Tour on Friday at the Epson Tour Championship. The 23-year-old scorched the Jones Course at LPGA International with a bogey-free 64 that saw her make eight birdies, five of which came in her final nine holes.
Kim got off to a sluggish start, only managing to shoot 1-under 71 on Thursday in Daytona Beach, Fla., but she kicked things into high gear on Friday. The Floridian got off to a fast start, making birdie on the par-4 2nd hole to move to 2-under and then grabbed two more on holes 5 and 9 to turn in 33 and get to 4-under overall. She recorded two consecutive birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 to sit at 6-under with six holes to play, picking up another birdie on the par-3 14th hole as well as two more back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 to sit five back of the 36-hole lead.
It's the second 64 of Kim’s Epson Tour career and second of the 2023 season. She last shot an 8-under 64 during the second round of the Island Resort Championship presented by Delta County Chamber and gave credit to her performance with the flatstick as the reason for her day-two success at the Epson Tour Championship.
“The putts were dropping today. That was the biggest difference compared to yesterday. So that was really great. Lines were better, and made a quick fix last night,” said Kim. “(Today’s round) feels good. I know I've played steady golf throughout the year, but one part of my game would kind of stop me. Yesterday felt like that, too, especially with my putting. I put a really good number in today, and I know that there is a lot of golf left, a lot more birdie opportunities, and I just want to have the best mentality I can this weekend.”
The Epson Tour sophomore currently sits at 15th in the Race for the Card, five spots outside the top 10 cutoff for players who will receive an LPGA Tour card at the end of the week. With three of those cards already mathematically clinched, Kim began the week needing to finish solo eighth or better to have a shot at earning 2024 LPGA Tour Membership.
Through two rounds at LPGA International, she is in a tie for 11th at 9-under, a great position to be heading into the weekend, and while some players might succumb to the pressure that comes with needing to make a push in the final 36 holes of a tournament, that’s just not Auston Kim. She is working to keep her mind in check, keep her putts rolling true and keep the final outcome in perspective as she looks to chase down the leaders on Saturday and Sunday at the Epson Tour Championship.
“Just doing my best, fairways and greens, and when I have reads, just trying my best; knowing that putts will drop if I stay patient and just trusting myself,” said Kim of her mindset for the upcoming 36 holes. “I've heard from a lot of people that pressure is really self-inflicted, and I don't want to put any more pressure on myself. I can get really hard on myself because I'm a bit of a perfectionist, which is really tough with golf.
“But I'm just trying to hit the best possible shots, and when the bad shots come, just being a goldfish, know that I can get over it really quick and try my best on the next one.”
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