Swinging from My Heels Confessions of an LPGA Star

by Shipnuck, Alan; Kim, Christina

• ISBN13: 9781608195909
• ISBN10: 1608195902
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-04-26
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

Christina Kim is the brashest, bawdiest, funniest player on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour. Golf fans know her for her colorful wardrobe, even more colorful on-course antics, and an explosive game. But in this rollicking account of the 2009 season, Kim invites readers deep into her life, providing an intimate diary of a young woman's struggles on and off the golf course, and revealing the glory and heartbreak of life on the tour. Once known as a prodigy who shot a 62 in her first LPGA event some six years ago, Kim has newly rededicated herself to realizing her potential, and she takes readers between the ropes for all the action, including her nail-biting near misses at two major championships. She also goes inside the team room at the Solheim Cup, revealing the hijinks and late-night gab sessions that bonded the victorious U.S. team. Along the way we get intimate portraits of her close friends on tour, including tour leaders such as Michelle Wie, Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, and Natalie Gulbis. In this courageous telling, no topic is out-of-bounds, as Kim dishes about the LPGA's sexual mores, the culture clash of an American-based tour increasingly dominated by Koreans, the tumultuous economic forces squeezing the players, and her own battles with body image and her traditional upbringing. Winsome and good-natured, but never afraid of a laugh line or choice profanity, Christina Kim provides a must-read for anyone who loves golf or has wondered about the inner self of a professional athlete.

Author Biography

Christina Kim has been one of the LPGA's most popular players since 2003, when she was a nineteen-year-old rookie. A two-time winner on tour, she was also a key member of the victorious U. S. Solheim Cup teams in 2005 and 2009. Born and raised in San Jose, California, she now lives in Orlando. Alan Shipnuck has been covering professional golf for Sports Illustrated since 1994. He is the author of the national bestseller Bud, Sweat, Tees: Rich Beem's Walk on the Wild Side of the PGA Tour. He lives in Northern California with his wife and children.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Blue Hawaii	p. 1
Daddy's Girl	p. 17
South by Southwest	p. 38
Breakthrough	p. 49
Roots	p. 63
Searching	p. 78
Dollars and Sense	p. 99
Euro-trashed	p. 124
ôU-S-A! K-I-M!ö	p. 147
Aftermath	p. 169
Homecoming Queen	p. 184
An Innocent Abroad	p. 194
The End of the Road	p. 215
Afterword	p. 229
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