HYEMIN KIM DONATES CHECK

Symetra Tour Professional Hyemin Kim Donates Entire Winner’s Check to LPGA*USGA Girls Golf

Kim won the POC Med Golf Classic and is using winnings to make difference

BEDMINSTER, N.J., July 12, 2017 – Hyemin Kim, a top-ranked player on the Symetra Tour, announced on Wednesday at the U.S. Women’s Open that she is donating her entire winnings from her victory at the POC Med Golf Classic ($15,000) to LPGA*USGA Girls Golf.

After four years on the Symetra Tour, the 29-year-old earned her first victory on April 9 in Windsor, Calif. The following day, she notified the Symetra Tour staff that she felt a calling to use her winnings to help make an impact.

“My mom (Inja Park) and I always talked about donating the paycheck from my first win to charity,” explained Kim. “I remember growing up in Korea and first being introduced to the game. I just want to help the next generation of girls and my hope is that this donation helps bring more girls to golf that don’t have the means on their own.”

LPGA*USGA Girls Golf will use the $15,000 to directly benefit the girls in the program by providing equipment, quality instruction and scholarship dollars to participate in Girls Golf sites around the United States.

“We are so thankful and excited that Hyemin has selected LPGA*USGA Girls Golf,” said Kiernan Schindler, Director, LPGA Foundation. “It’s so important for our current LPGA and Symetra Tour to become ambassadors and help us continue “Changing the Face of the Game” and Hyemin’s unprecedented gesture will go a long way.”

Kim is currently having the best year of her career on the Symetra Tour. She ranks 15th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list in 13 starts and is coming off a tie for sixth in French Lick last week at the Donald Ross Centennial Classic. She has seven career top-10 finishes on Tour. She started her career on the KLPGA and has one career win in Korea.

There are 408 LPGA*USGA Girls Golf sites around the country and the program has grown to over 70,000 girls, a 1000 percent increase since 2010.

About the Symetra Tour

The Symetra Tour — Road to the LPGA is the developmental tour of the LPGA and concluded its 37th competitive season in 2017. With the support of its umbrella partner, Symetra, the Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour. Since Symetra’s inaugural sponsorship year in 2012, the Symetra Tour has grown from 16 tournaments and $1.7M in prize money to $3.5M in prize money awarded over the course of 23 tournaments — the most events since 1988. With more than 600 alumnae moving on to the LPGA, former Symetra Tour players have won a total of 422 LPGA titles. Follow the Symetra Tour on the web atwww.SymetraTour.com, Facebook.com/RoadtotheLPGA, Twitter.com/Road2LPGA, and YouTube.com/Road2LPGA.

About LPGA*USGA Girls Golf

Run in partnership by the LPGA Foundation and the United States Golf Association, LPGA*USGA Girls Golf (Girls Golf) is a non-profit 501-c3 junior golf program with sites in more than 400 communities across the country. Girls Golf sites provide girls with quality golf instruction led by LPGA and PGA teaching professionals or certified coaches from The First Tee, who provide a supportive girl-friendly environment for young women to learn and enjoy the game. Girls Golf reaches more than 70,000 young women annually through traditional junior golf programs and outreach efforts, empowering them with confidence and valuable life skills (including leadership and healthy living) through the Five E’s of Girls Golf. For more information, visit www.girlsgolf.org.