Kim Seo-a, the 14-year-old middle school golfer who made headlines last fall by making the cut on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, is now looking beyond simply making cuts — she is chasing the all-time record for the youngest winner in tour history.
Kim carded six birdies, one bogey and one double bogey for a 3-under-par 69 in the second round of The Siena Open 2026, the KLPGA Tour's domestic season opener with a total purse of 1 billion won ($730,000), held Friday at The Siena Belluto Country Club (par 72) in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. She sits alone in fourth place at 7-under par, two strokes behind sole leader Ko Ji-won at 9-under.
Kim actually held the solo lead by two strokes through the front nine after picking up four birdies. If she goes on to win, she would surpass Park Se-ri to become the youngest champion in KLPGA Tour history. Park was 14 years, 11 months and 29 days old when she won the Lyle & Scott Women's Open in 1992. Kim's age would be 14 years, 2 months and 22 days.
Having drawn gasps from the gallery with two drives exceeding 290 yards in the first round, Kim delivered again on the day with a fearsome longest drive of 296 yards to overpower the lengthy course. The highlight came at the 9th hole (par 4), where she bombed a 294-yard drive onto the fairway, then stuck her approach from roughly 130 yards to within three meters of the pin to set up a birdie. She gave back two strokes with a double bogey after hitting her tee shot out of bounds to the right on the 12th hole (par 4), but recovered immediately with a birdie on the very next hole.
