It was the sort of mistake that haunts golf careers – missing a one-foot putt for a maiden major championship title.
That’s what happened to I.K. Kim who – unsurprisingly – went on to lose to fellow South Korean Sun Young Yoo in a play-off for the Kraft Nabisco Championship title on Sunday.
An accomplished player with three LPGA Tour victories to her name, 23-year-old Kim etched her place in unwanted golf history alongside Scott Hoch and Doug Sanders as players who let a major get away by missing a tiddler.
The steadiest of the leaders in a wild final round at Mission Hills, Kim could have sealed victory in the first women’s major of 2012 with her tap-in putt for par on the 18th.
Instead it toured the lip of the cup before coming out on the same side it entered. The gallery gasped, and Kim raised her hand to her mouth in disbelief before walking to the scorer’s hut with her hands over her ears in dismay.
“I played straight, and it actually just broke to the right, even that short putt,” Kim said.
It left her tied at nine-under 279 with Yoo after both players carded closing three-under 69s and Yoo completed her demoralised countrywoman’s misery with a birdie on the first extra hole.
“She’s a great putter,” Yoo said of Kim.
“She usually doesn’t miss that kind of putt, but … in sports, you never know what’s going to happen.”
All-conquering world No.1 Yani Tseng endured a difficult day, shooting 73 and just missed a birdie putt at the last that would have put her in the play-off as she took third place on 280.
But she knew that what Kim was feeling was worse.
“I feel so bad for her,” Tseng said. “I wish she had made it.”
Kim’s mistake was reminiscent of Hoch’s missed 2-foot putt that would have won the 1989 Masters, and Sanders’ miss on a 3-footer to win the 1970 British Open.
“On the play-off hole, it’s just hard to kind of focus on what’s going on right now,” Kim admitted.
“I was still a little bit bummed about what happened on 18, honestly.”
Yoo, who seemed almost reluctant to celebrate after offering a consoling hug to Kim, did make the traditional leap into Poppie’s Pond with her caddie.
“It’s huge. I didn’t think about winning today,” said Yoo, who had never finished higher than seventh in a major tournament and started the day with a share of fourth place.
“I didn’t want to let myself down, but I think I did better than what I was expecting.”
Defending champion Stacy Lewis (66), Koreans Amy Yang (69) and Hee Kyung Seo (71) and Sweden’s Karin Sjodin were tied fourth on 281.
Former champion Karrie Webb was the leading Australian, tied 15th on 284 after a closing 70 while Katherine Hill (74) was a shot further back and Lindsey Wright’s promising start was wiped away with back to back 76s as she tied 43rd.
