Day after newborn finally comes home, Chan Kim opens Q-School’s final stage with leading 64

Chan Kim was as relaxed as he’s been in some time on Thursday at TPC Sawgrass, where the 35-year-old Kim, on the heels of a frustrating and emotional close to his fall season, opened the final stage of PGA Tour Q-School with a leading 6-under 64 around the Dye’s Valley Course.

It’s no coincidence that a day earlier, Kim’s newborn daughter, Jenna, went home for the first time.

Chan Kim had just missed the cut at the World Wide Technology Championship in early November, his 12th trunk slam in 15 starts, when he received a call that his wife, Sally, about three weeks from Jenna’s due date, had been rushed in for an emergency C-section. Kim hopped on a plane back home to Phoenix as soon as he could, but he still missed his firstborn’s entrance into the world.

Jenna was born at approximately 10 pounds, over two pounds of that extra fluid from what doctors diagnosed as hydrops, a “severe, potentially fatal condition in unborn or newborn babies involving widespread fluid buildup in body tissues and organs.” Kim shared that doctors initially gave Jenna a 30-percent chance of survival. She was immediately admitted to the NICU.

“Very emotional the first two weeks,” Kim said. “Doctors didn’t know if she was going to survive, which in turn just put us under a lot of stress. … I was so focused on that that nothing else really mattered at that point.”

With his daughter fighting for her life, Kim, well outside the top 100 in FedExCup points after keeping his card as a rookie the year prior, made the difficult decision to continue fighting for his job. He flew to Bermuda, got in the day before the tournament, and promptly started 8 over through his first 11 holes.

Earlier in the year, Kim’s mind had been clouded by all sorts of swing thoughts. But with his heart and mind mostly back home, Kim’s approach of simply getting through his rounds as quickly as possible and immediately jumping on a FaceTime with his wife seemed to work. He battled back for a T-22 in Bermuda, then capped his fall with a T-41 at the RSM Classic with bookend 66s. He still finished No. 130 in points, but he’d done enough to guarantee his exemption to final stage, where he’d have one last chance to retain full status.

“I said, you know what, I’m just going to go out, hurry up and play some golf, get back in and call the wife, see how the baby’s doing,” Kim explained of his approach. “Yeah, that was about it.”

Kim has spent recent weeks bouncing between the golf course and the hospital. He proudly exclaimed that he’s already changed a diaper, and more importantly, he says that Jenna’s condition is improving daily. Her labs look great, and once she finishes some medication to help with a minor blood clot in her heart, she’ll have that behind her as well.

“Everything else is looking really good as of right now,” Kim added. “Like I said, she’s home, so that’s always a good sign. Yeah, now the fun begins.”

Kim arrived in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Sunday to begin his Q-School prep. He’s a veteran of the qualifying tournament, having gotten through Q-Schools in Asia, Japan, Europe and a few years ago on the Korn Ferry Tour. Kim can’t fully explain that success, only that he treats it like a regular tournament, where he’s trying to win, not just finish top five.

He’s off to a strong pace after Thursday, where he canned a few length birdie putts at Nos. 7, 9 and 11, the latter from 40 feet. He kept a clean card, too, as he sits one ahead of Greyson Sigg and two clear of a three-way tie for third involving Michael Feagles, A.J. Ewart and Luke Gutschewski.

Everyone is fighting for their livelihoods this week, though few have the perspective that Kim now possesses. Golf isn’t everything is more than just a saying for Kim. Still, he’d love nothing more than to bring home another card, this time for Jenna.

“I’ve got to find a way to make diaper money at least,” Kim quipped. “Hopefully, I keep playing well this week.”