"When she was little, a taekwondo instructor said she should try sports — whatever the sport might be — so we put her into golf. Things have gotten bigger than we ever imagined," the mother of teenage golfer Kim Seo-a (14, Sinseong Middle School) said with a laugh after her daughter's round on Friday.
Kim, born in 2012, fired a 4-under-par 68 — with one eagle, seven birdies and five bogeys — in the first round of the KLPGA Tour's 2026 domestic season opener, The Siena Open 2026 (total purse: 1 billion won, approximately $730,000), held at The Siena Belluto Country Club (par 72) in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday. Starting in the leading group puts her in realistic contention for the title.
Beginning on the 10th hole, Kim got off to a shaky start with three bogeys in her first four holes. She then produced a spectacular run of birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle from the 5th through 8th holes on the back nine, slashing five strokes in a burst. Standing 171 centimeters tall, she launched drives exceeding 290 yards twice, drawing wide-eyed reactions from onlookers. On the par-5 8th hole, she hit a 3-wood from 241 yards to the pin onto the green for her second shot and sank the long eagle putt.
