DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., May 8, 2007 — Mi Hyun Kim, an eight-time winner on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour and champion of last week’s SemGroup Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons in Broken Arrow, Okla., announced after her win that she will donate $100,000 of her winner’s paycheck ($210,000) to the United Way Greensburg Disaster Fund to aid the victims of the tornado that destroyed the Kansas town last weekend.
"I was just happy that I won the tournament," said Kim. "Sunday and during the week, the tornados came out of the middle of nowhere. I felt like I needed to do something for them. Winning a tournament on its own was a good thing, but I just decided to donate some money."
"We’ve already seen a tremendous outpouring of support for the residents of Greensburg and I know this very generous donation from Mi Hyun Kim is truly appreciated. The citizens of Greensburg have a tremendous spirit and are determined to rebuild their community. It is my honor to acknowledge this donation on their behalf," said Governor Kathleen Sebelius today.
Kim, 30, is currently seventh on the 2007 LPGA Official Money List with $315,341 in season earnings. She moved into 10th all-time on the LPGA Official Career Earnings List with her victory at the SemGroup Championship last week. She has earned more than $6.5 million since joining the Tour in 1999.
"Honestly, I made a lot of money in the United States on the LPGA Tour," said Kim. "Most of time, I get the money here and donate to South Korea. But, I want to help people here, too. The win was a surprise for me and I think God gave it to me like a special present or he is using me like, ‘okay, I give you this, but after that you give to help the people.’"
Contact:
Pam Warner, LPGA; 386.274-6200, pam.warner@lpga.com
