I.K. Kim still asked about missed putt from 2012 Kraft Nabisco

RANCHO MIRAGE -- A year ago at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, women’s golf’s first major of the season, Korea’s I.K. Kim needed to just tap in a putt on the 18th hole to win.

Instead, Kim flubbed the tap-in, a putt so easy many men and women can sink it without even looking. Kim ended up losing the title in a playoff and for an hour afterward, in between tears, Kim answered questions about what happened.

And she’s back, a year later, and said her sad experience has taught her lessons.

[For the record, 12:24 p.m., April 4: The headline on an earlier version of this post incorrectly said the blown putt occurred at the 2013 Kraft Nabisco Championship. It happened at the 2012 championship.]

“It was a big turning point in my life,” Kim said. “It was too tough to handle at first but I think it’s important not only to the (television) viewers and the people, but to let the younger generation know that it’s not always going to be glorious and victory.

“Life is not about winning or losing. When you’re 80 and look back, you’re not going to remember, ‘Oh, I should have made that putt.’ I mean, when you’re 80, it’s more about how much you have fun and enjoy your life.”

Two weeks ago Kim lost in a playoff to Beatriz Recari at the Kia Classic in Carlsbad. So far in Thursday’s first round of the 2013 tournament, Kim is one-over-par through eight holes, four shots behind a quartet of leaders who are three-under-par.

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