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News

LPGA pro reported fellow pro’s rules violation despite ‘fear of losing friend’

Jessica MarksburyBy Jessica Marksbury
November 2, 2019
Christina Kim has three career LPGA Tour victories.
Getty Images

Long-time LPGA pro Christina Kim has never been afraid to speak her mind, but in a fascinating, at times cryptic, series of tweets Thursday and Friday she revealed that her decision to report a fellow pro for a rules violation made her fearful that it might cost her a friendship.

Kim didn’t say which player was involved or what the infraction was. She is currently playing in the LPGA Q-Series, an eight-round qualifying tournament in Pinehurst, N.C., that will grant 2020 LPGA status to the top 45 finishers and ties, but it wasn’t clear if the incident even occurred at this event. “This could have happened last week, last month, last year,” Kim tweeted.

At press time, an attempt to reach Kim for more details went unanswered, but based on what can be gleaned from her lengthy Twitter thread, two things are clear: enforcing the rules is a matter Kim takes very seriously, and the decision to report the infraction caused her considerable consternation. The thread was also illuminating in that it shed light on the emotions players feel when deliberating whether to protect the field, a phenomenon that is unique to golf.

It all started with a comment Kim posted on Twitter on Thursday.

Naturally, Kim’s followers were curious to what incident she was referring. When some of Kim’s followers started to engage with her, Kim revealed that she had witnessed a breach of the rules.

When Kim was pressed for additional details, she referred to the incident as an “innocent mistake,” but again reminded her followers that it all could have been avoided if the player in question had simply known the rules.

Kim went on to explain that providing details could “quite unfairly” paint the player in question in an “unsavory light.”

The thread continued into Friday, when one of Kim’s followers chided her for turning in a fellow player.

When another follower commented that reporting a fellow player is a tough thing to do, Kim revealed that it was, in fact, a trying decision for her.

Kim declined yet another plea for details of the infraction, saying to do so would be akin to gossiping.

So there you have it. It’s an intriguing situation to be sure, but it appears Kim is adamant in her decision to not divulge any more details. She also has more important things on her mind, as she’s currently T-28 heading into the eighth and final round of the Q-Series.

Kim teed off at 9:44 a.m. ET Saturday.

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