Kim's Komeback

I had more for you yesterday, well more of everything but time...unfortunately the next two days are more of the same.  So let's deal for now with Christina Kim's feel-good win yesterday in Mexico, and we'll catch up on the other stuff as time permits.

It occurred to me yesterday while watching the Christina Roller Coaster that Kim is a surname fraught with peril in our game...  Has it really been nine years since she won?  Here's the headline:

Christina Kim won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour

Always in perfect balance at the finish.

title in nine years, beating Shanshan Feng in a playoff after losing a five-stroke lead.

Kim won with a tap-in par on the par-4 18th on the second extra hole at Club de Golf Mexico. 

"This is the greatest win in my life, without a doubt," Kim said.

Of course there was a previous tap-in to win in regulation, OK to be fair it was more than a tap in... but not all that much more.  As for her noticeable waggle, Randall Mell has the, ahem, skinny on that: 

“I had an incident with some bees that had me back off my shots [at the Ricoh Women’s British Open], and that actually gave me sort of a back-in-the-day, Sergio kind-of-Dufnery waggle. It's something that's been really frustrating to me, because I used to be such a fast player.” 

Kim has actually refined the waggle the last couple weeks, shortened it up considerably.

“Lobbed off a lot of time, but still not quite what I'm working toward, because I would love to just step up to the ball and hit,” Kim said. “But it's also something I've been trying to work on. Just making sure that I don't turn my hands over too quickly and just making sure I get the grip and the butt of the club going ahead of the club head.”

Ummm since the rest of your girls are playing in 4 hours and 40 minutes, Christina, no worries... To be honest, when she missed the shortie to win on No. 18, I thought it over for her (as with Watson in '09).  But kudos to her for staying in the moment, and the 6-8-footer she made on the first extra hole was telling.  Also kudos to her for her interactions with Shanshan Feng, essentially rooting on her opponent.

Beth Ann Nichols has the background on Christina's fight with depression and her return to the Tour via Q-School.  This game beats us all up, so how can you not root for someone who's fought her way back.  Antone who watched the broadcast knows she has a long history with Lorena Ochoa, making the win doubly sweet.  This will do as a final image from the week:

I prefer the sombrero to the French Legion beret.