The Loop

Here's how Golf Digest (and Rickie Fowler and Butch Harmon) helped Christina Kim shoot 66 on Friday

Christina-Kim.jpg
November 13, 2015

Golf Digest has long prided itself on helping the average golfer get better. The average golfer part isn't a rule, however, so if you're, say, a touring professional who has won three times and more than $5 million on the LPGA Tour, we're happy to help you, too.

On Thursday, shortly after shooting 73 in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Christina Kim saw this tweet from @GolfDigest.

The link was to a cover story by Rickie Fowler from last January in which Fowler talks about the changes he made to his swing under Butch Harmon. Specifically, Fowler talks about trying to slow down his takeaway which helps sync up his whole body.

"My slow-motion rehearsal thought was, 'The toe of the club makes the first move,'" Fowler says.

For Kim, this immediately resonated.

"I've watched Rickie for a number of years -- I'm a huge fan of his -- and I struggle with taking my club back square," Kim told us on Friday night. "I read the tweet and really liked taking it back and pausing and really feeling the club."

It obviously clicked. In the second round at the Club de Golf Mexico in Mexico City, Kim had six birdies and no bogeys to shoot 66, moving her to within a shot of leader Minjee Jim. In a Golf Channel interview after her round, Kim credited the tip from Golf Digest with making the difference.

"It helps me to not feel as rushed and to allow me to take the club back on a better plane," she said later.

So there you have it. Should Kim go on to win her fourth LPGA tournament, we're not suggesting she has to give a piece of her winnings to Golf Digest. But we'll take a retweet every now and then.