Clark, South Dakota is not a place you would expect to find one of golf's best players. But this small city of 1,000 people, one grocery store and not a single stoplight is where one of the brightest young talents on the LPGA tour honed skills that have placed Kim Kaufman in the hunt for a berth on the 2017 Solheim Cup Team. Team USA will seek to defend its Solheim Cup title at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club August 14-20, 2017.
"Playing my first Solheim Cup in Iowa would be a dream come true," Kaufman said. "Having it that close to where I grew up and knowing all the family and friends that would come makes me want to work that much harder.
"I’ll do everything I can these next two years to get a spot on that team," the third year LPGA Tourpro added.
Ranked 13th in Solheim Cup points standings as of May 1, Kaufman already has two top-20 finishes this year, including a tie for 13th at the Honda LPGA in Thailand on February 28 and a tie for ninth three weeks later at the LPGA JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix, where she finished 18 under par.
Her Phoenix performance served as a homecoming of sorts for the 24-year-old where several relatives and friends from South Dakota converged on the Arizona desert to cheer her on. And it's a good bet that every TV in Clark was tuned to her final round and saw Kaufman hole out a bunker shot on the 14th hole. The LPGA ranked that shot as one of the top 10 shots in March.
It was in Clark where Kaufman started playing golf at age four on a nine-hole course on the edge of town. Her father also installed netting in the garage so she could work on her swing during the frigid South Dakota winters. Her golf skills earned Kaufman a scholarship to Texas Tech University where she was twice named All-American. She began her LPGA career in 2014 when she entered 19 events, made 12 cuts and carded three top-10 finishes, led by a tie for fourth at the North Texas LPGA Shootout.
No such thing as a sophomore jinx. In 2015 Kaufman made 21 cuts out of 28 events and carded two top 10 finishes led by a tie for fourth at the North Texas LPGA Shootout Presented by JTBC. To date, she has earned more than $750,000 on the LPGA Tour.
Will Kaufman make the 2017 Solheim Cup team? If she does you can cheer her on from the first tee at Des Moines Golf and Country Club, August 14-20. Get your tickets now!
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