Grace Kim’s dramatic big win brought an unprecedented reward

NAPLES, Fla. – It’s still a “grow me” moment for Grace Kim. The day she became a great champion, and how the 24-year-old rising star did it.

Standing on the 18th fairway on Sunday at Evian, Kim, who was two shots behind Jeeno Thitikul, had to do something special to keep her high championship hopes alive. She pulled the hybrid and hit her approach into the tap range for a tournament-tying eagle. In the playoffs, Kim’s flair for the dramatic continued. She hit her approach in the hazard but birdied to extend the playoff, which she ended on the next hole by burying a 15-foot eagle putt.

Major championships are not created equal, and each one gives the winner something different.

For some, it brings peace. For others, it gives confidence and a sense of belonging.

When Lydia Ko won gold and the AIG Women’s Open to earn induction into the Hall of Fame, she thought her whole life was about to change. Instead, the next day came and looked much the same as the last.

“I think I thought my life or maybe the way I thought about myself was going to change when I got in the Hall of Fame and I did a lot of the things I wanted to do before it actually happened, and I’m sure Rory (McIlroy) is thinking the same thing in similar parts where everyone was like, oh, the Masters is what he was missing. Like what if it was, Ko2G0” Championship. “And as much as I’m sure he’s so happy and relieved, he’s just as good the day before as he was before he won it.

“I think that’s what I came to peace with.”

Rory McIlroy won the Masters and remained lost in search of his next “Everest”. Maya Stark fell into a similar mess after winning the US Women’s Open.

While golf’s year has been defined by post-achievement depression felt by McIlroy and, to a lesser extent, Stark, Kim’s dramatic win at Evian gave her something different.

For Grace Kim, her Evian win gave her something she needed – something intangible that can’t be bought.

“I think my confidence has grown for sure,” Kim said at the CME Group Tour Championship. “I still struggle here and there. Like golf it’s not something that works every week, and when you don’t have that confidence, just knowing that you’ve done it before I think it helps yourself inside anyway.”

This big championship win in France gave Kim proof of that extraordinary talent that others have always seen. It was concrete proof that she can be great.

It’s a lesson Kim is still constantly learning, even as the Evian Trophy sits in her home.

“I think I still struggle with confidence sometimes,” Kim said. “It’s just golf. It just happens. I think that’s always going to be a learning experience. But sometimes I have to believe that I’m better than I think I am sometimes. So yeah, just carving that into my mind.”

Golf can be brutal on your confidence. It’s a relentless sport that punishes you for small mistakes and refuses to let you down once a spiral begins.

Many professionals go to a sports psychologist to help with their mental struggles. McIlroy has sought the advice of Bob Rotella, whose help was vital in McIlroy’s wild Sunday at Augusta National this April.

Kim doesn’t see a sports psychologist regularly, but she has received some advice from Julie Elion.

“It’s definitely more mental than physical over the years, and having a good team around you and I think having honest people around you helps,” Kim said. “I think even just having honest conversations. It can be difficult with your team at that level, but just being able to trust my team to have that conversation.”

Winning a major championship helped Kim see himself in a new light. But the battle with self-confidence continues, and Kim, who, like most of us, is always buried in a device, is working to turn a digital vice into a mental health tool.

“I’m always on my phone, so I tried — whether it’s Instagram or whatever, I tried to follow a lot of positive pages,” Kim said. “I think it’s just like an everyday thing that I can see every now and then. So that helps.”

When Kim dropped the eagle putt 15 feet to beat Thitikul in Evian, she saw what she was capable of. For some, this is a priceless sight – a single glimpse of the great glory the championship can deliver.

“>