LPGA Rookie 2nd Place Lim Jin-hee: "It Was a Time to Gain Confidence"

Runner-up Finish and Six Top-10s in First Year on U.S. Tour
Signs with Prain Sports, Home to Park Jiyoung, Park Gyeol, and Im Heejeong
"I Will Show You My Next Level of Growth"

Gained a lot.

Im Jin-hee is smiling brightly with CEO Kim Pyeong-gi after signing a management contract with Prain Sports. Photo by Prain Sports

This is the story of Im Jin-hee's debut season on the U.S. Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. She said, "2024 was a precious time to confirm my potential in the U.S. and gain the confidence to take on bigger challenges." Im Jin-hee is known as a symbol of 'late bloomer.' She debuted on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour in 2018 and went through a long period of obscurity. Until she lifted her first trophy at the 2021 BC Card·Hankyung Ladies Cup, she had only finished in the 'top 10' twice.

However, Im Jin-hee kept challenging herself. In 2023, she swept an impressive four wins and became the top winner of the season. She accumulated a total of six wins on the KLPGA Tour. She did not settle there. In the same year, she passed the LPGA Qualifying (Q) School in 17th place, earning a full LPGA Tour card for the 2024 season.

Although Im Jin-hee did not secure a win on the LPGA Tour, her performance was outstanding. She participated in 24 LPGA Tour events and made it to the final rounds 21 times. In November last year, she finished as runner-up at The Annika Driven and achieved six 'top 10' finishes. She competed in the rookie of the year race until the end of the season against Mao Saigo (Japan). She ranked second in the rookie points category this year with 873 points, following Saigo who had 959 points. Her current world ranking is 32nd.

This year, Im Jin-hee found a new agency. She signed a management contract with Prain Sports. Prain Sports is a company engaged in golf, tennis, e-sports, sports consulting, sports PR, and digital marketing. Members of the KLPGA Tour such as Park Ji-young, Park Gyeol, Ma Da-som, Im Hee-jeong, Kim Ji-hyun, Lee Jeong-min, Lee Joo-mi, Han Jin-seon, Park Bo-gyeom, and Heo Da-bin are affiliated with the agency. Im Jin-hee said, "I believe this year is an important turning point in my golf career," and added, "I will definitely show you my growth to the next level."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.