5 things to watch for at this week’s Curtis Cup in Wales

After 72 holes in the California desert, Gina Kim faced a long international flight to Wales. Winning the first stage of LPGA Q-School might make that airtime a little more palatable.

Kim, a Duke senior, is not only safely through the first stage, but is through it with a medal. In a field of 340 tour hopefuls, Kim finished on top with a four-day score of 15-under 273. That was highlighted by closing rounds of 66-67.

“The putts were not dropping in the beginning, but I knew this was a marathon not a sprint,” Kim said after the final round.  “So, I just took it one hole at a time and stayed patient. After I made a bogey on No. 8, that’s when my putts started dropping, so I think staying calm and poised was really the key for me today.”

The 21-year-old, No. 18 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, hasn’t competed since winning the North & South Women’s Amateur in July – she skipped the U.S. Women’s Amateur in favor of Q-School. She played the U.S. Women’s open in June and was fifth individually at the NCAA Women’s Championship in May.

Her biggest goal was to make the Curtis Cup team, and the North & South win served her well in that.

“I was thinking about it even before the North & South,” she said after winning at Pinehurst. “I knew this tournament would really swing things in my favor if things go well. I think that was the No. 1 thing that was on my priority list. It’s every amateur golfer’s dream to make the Curtis cup or the Walker Cup. These tournaments are just so prestigious.”

Kim brings a tough head-to-head record into these matches. Aside from the five matches she won at the North & South, she was 4-0 at the Arnold Palmer Cup this summer and a major factor in Duke’s 2019 NCAA title – winning two of three matches that week.

As for the potential jet lag? Kim won’t be the only one on the U.S. team feeling it. Teammate Brooke Matthews finished T-10 and Allisen Corpuz was T-33