Kim’s Course of Action Is a Serene Approach

There’s something about quiet surroundings that help Sihwan Kim perform better, so it should come as no surprise that he has found success in golf.

He prefers the peaceful setting of a golf course over the buzzing atmosphere of a stadium, the serenity of nature over the commotion of arenas.

“My body functions so much better when it’s quiet,” Kim said.

Sometimes, then, he must be able to hear a pin drop.

Kim, 16, a sophomore at La Mirada High, established himself as one of the top teenage golfers in the nation in July when he won the U.S. Junior Amateur at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

He’s in the process of trying to back up his success with a state high school championship.

Kim has qualified for the Southern Section finals Monday at Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs, where he will need to finish among the top 28 to advance to the Southern California regional championships June 2 at the SCGA Course in Murrieta.

Last year, Kim finished ninth in the state and if his recent play is any indication, he should have no trouble improving upon that finish at this year’s championships, June 8 at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach.

He had a nine-hole average of 35.3 during the regular season, then shot 11 under par for three rounds of the Suburban League championships and eagled the final hole to win by three shots over Rory Hie of Cerritos.

“Sometimes I get in a zone, but it doesn’t last long,” Kim said. “I can feel that my ball is going to go straight and I can see exactly how the putts are going to break. The thing is, I have to catch it at the right time.”

He was 15 years, seven months and 20 days old when he won the U.S. Junior title -- the second youngest champion in the 56-year history of the event. Tiger Woods was 22 days younger in 1991 when he won his first.

Woods, a three-time winner from 1991 to 1993, is the only player to win the title more than once. Kim has two more shots, but he’s not going to put any undue pressure on himself.

“It would mean a lot to win it again because there is nobody other than Tiger who won it twice,” Kim said. “But if it doesn’t work out, then so be it. I’ll try to play without pressure because pressure gets you down.”

Kim’s easygoing demeanor reminds his swing coach, Bob Lasken, of Ernie Els. Kim rarely shows emotion on the course. He doesn’t throw clubs and his golf bag doesn’t have any blemishes from getting slammed with a club, unlike the bags of many golfers his age.

“He’s got a very mild personality,” said Lasken, an instructor at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo who has worked with Kim for more than two years. “And that translates to his swing. He has great tempo and he’s smooth and really strong.”

In April, Kim won the Los Angeles City junior championships for the second consecutive year. No one has won three in a row and only six have won it twice in a row. One of them is Lasken.

“I’m going to have to stop teaching him so he won’t break my record,” Lasken joked.

Kim probably would find a way to succeed anyway. He has a strong work ethic, mostly because he has had to.

He moved to the United States from South Korea at age 11 because his parents weren’t satisfied with the junior golf programs. He didn’t speak English and learned by attending school.

Five years later, his English is nearly flawless, even though he doesn’t use it all that much.

“He’s pretty quiet,” La Mirada Coach Jim Erickson said. “But that’s just the way he is. He’s still a great teammate because he goes out of his way to help the other kids.

“Everyone on the team likes the guy.”

Kim said he was overweight in his younger years but has enlisted a personal trainer. At 6 feet 1 and about 190 pounds, Kim hits the ball about 290 yards off the tee.

His short game, from 100 yards in, is second to none, Erickson said, and though he hits wayward shots on occasion, his consistency makes him difficult to beat.

He plays basketball for fun, but said he doesn’t really like other sports. Football is too violent. In hockey, they fight too much, and baseball is too boring.

And for someone who would rather watch a quiet movie than go to a party with friends, golf is the perfect sport.

“Golf is just a really peaceful sport,” Kim said. “I think that’s why I like it.”