'I'm out here to compete'

SYLVANIA -- At age 39, with more than $6 million earned on the LPGA Tour in the last 20 years and a nice side hustle as a TV analyst, Christina Kim doesn't need to be at Highland Meadows Golf Club for the Dana Open this week.Then, again, why not?"The only things we need are food, shelter and water.," she said after Thursday's first round, in which she shot a 2-over-par 73. "I have fun and I enjoy what I do. I'm very lucky that I have an unbelievable office week in and week out, whether it's here on the LPGA Tour or in Ponte Vedra, (Florida) in the studio. I just try and take it one moment at a time and enjoy where I am right now."Still, going over par didn't sit well with her. "I'm out here to compete," she said. "I'm out here to try and win, and today was just one of those days where I couldn't have struck a dead horse if I was sitting on it. Maybe tomorrow some of the putts will start to drop."Such a sense of humor through an outgoing personality has long made Kim a fan favorite. And while she doesn't have the glittery resume others on tour have put together, she has won five times on three different tours -- including three victories on the LPGA Tour -- and represented the United States three times in the Solheim Cup.Her best finish at Highland Meadows came in 2010, when she and two others lost to Na Yeon Choi in a playoff when the tournament was known as the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic.She's made northwest Ohio a staple of her schedule."This is my 20th visit, if I'm not mistaken," she said. "I do (enjoy playing at Highland Meadows). There's just something very special about the Great Lakes area, the upper Midwest. There are good people, good hearts, good energy. And I love the tournaments where it's really community-based. This is one of the big events for the region. It makes us feel special, the courses are well cared-for and people don't just come out just to be seen. They come out because they're passionate about the LPGA. That's something that's been very, very evident to me since my rookie year here in 2003."Kim has been splitting this season between playing on the LPGA Tour and working as a TV analyst for PGA Tour Live."I was initially going off of a tournament-winners category, but I reshuffled my way up," she said of her status on tour. "So, I'm pretty much playing the rest of the season, all of the pro-field events. Up until last week I was kind of bouncing between playing on the LPGA Tour and doing PGA Tour Live commentary, but since they're coming toward the end of their standard season before going into the playoffs, this gives me a chance to go out and play some."Kim had done some guest TV work in the past on other networks before gaining more regular work on PGA Tour Live during 2020, when the coronavirus slowed the start of the LPGA season."A friend of mine who works for the PGA Tour used to work with the LPGA, and she sent me a message saying, 'Hey, want to come look at a television screen and tell everyone what we're all looking at?' So, I said, 'Sure,' " she said. "It's been a lot of fun. And it's really enjoyable seeing the way the season's going on the men's side and on the women's side and just talking shots through with people and things like that. It's fun to know if I'm able to teach people one thing out of all the people who are viewing, that's more than I feel like a lot of people can say they do."Kim said she likes that her TV work isn't directly connected to her golf career, yet it still gives her a platform of sorts to promote the women's tour."One thing I enjoy is, I don't play on the PGA Tour, so it has nothing to do with me," she said. "I'm telling everyone what they're thinking as players. I'm telling everyone what's going on there, but I don't go back to my personal experiences. It's not about me. It's about setting up the story that we're seeing unfold on the television screen. That's one thing where I think I have an advantage -- not playing on tour. I feel there have been some commentators over the years, primarily in the past, where they sit there and talk about their (experiences)."She added: "It's super-important to make sure we're getting as much exposure on the women's side as possible with the LPGA coverage and everything. We're increasing that and Morgan (Pressel) is doing a beautiful job (as a TV analyst). I like being able to remind people that, hey, we're still just golfers. It doesn't matter that we're female. We're just golfers. I'm a commentator understanding the way golf can be played at the professional level. So, having me out there with the guys however many times a year, it's kind of like I'm getting the LPGA out to those viewers (of the PGA Tour) as well."As a veteran of two decades, she's seen significant change in the LPGA Tour's landscape."I was 18 when I first got my tour card," she said. "So, it's me out here now, but kids are different these days. I'm officially that old, so I can say that. ... It just has to do with how small the world has gotten by way of technological advances. As such, I feel like there was more camaraderie when I was a rookie on tour than there is now. Like, I attached myself to (veterans) Meg Mallon and Beth Daniel, Nancy Lopez, Rosie Jones, Laurie Kane. Those were my people growing up, after I first got my card on tour. (Now) you've got players who tend to stay with the kids they went to school with or played on the(developmental) Epson Tour with or junior golf with because they have access to everything (via technology) and they don't need to ask questions. They have access to everything, so they can read up on stuff. It's different."