Surprise! Kim Kim's Going to College

At least, that's what appears to be the case now that Kimberly Kim - who won the U.S. Women's Amateur at age 14 and was a member of the recent Curtis Cup team - has enrolled in Xavier College Preparatory school in Phoenix. You don't enroll in prep school unless you're planning on college, right?

In Golfweek's Blog U, Beth Ann Baldry writes:

“I want to get my academics in order,” said Kim, who has been taking classes online the last year.

Enrolling in the academically stringent Xavier Prep is Kim’s way of gearing up for college life. That’s right, the youngest player to ever win the U.S. Women’s Amateur has decided to put professional golf on hold for a least a little while.

“I’ve never seen anyone regret going to school,” said Kim, who will be a senior this fall.

Xavier Prep is one of the top golf programs in the country, coached by the famous  Sister Lynn.

The golf coach at Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix occupies an office down a long hallway that pictorially pays homage to women of note, including Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks and Margaret Thatcher, none of whom could break 90. Isn't that the point, if not the objective, of this pantheon, a reminder that there is more to life than golf?

The office is cluttered with the accoutrements of success that seem to argue otherwise: plaques and framed certificates of commendation, yellowing newspaper clips, photos of championship teams, a cluster of trophies and a simple handwritten note, the team's motto this year, that says, "We're going to push it to the limit, cuz we're in it to win it! Oh, yeah."

It is here that you find Sister Lynn Winsor, and she is wearing a golf shirt. You were expecting a habit? Sister Lynn has a habit, of course, several probably. Her most noticeable one is winning Arizona state championships. Xavier Prep has won 25 of them in 27 years, including the last nine straight, most recently in 2006 by 82 strokes. In 1989 its margin of victory was 191 strokes.

Check out John Strege's Golf World article from last year about the legendary program and its legendary coach. Baldry adds, "Just don’t look for Kim to show up with blonde streaks in her hair again anytime soon. Sister Lynn runs a tight ship."

Kim's move seems to have caught everyone by surprise. It's so ... unexpected ... these days for a top junior female golfer to actually attend college. Baldry points out that many of the top college programs have already given out all their 2009 scholarships.

Of course, there are no guarantees. Going to Xavier Prep is an indication of Kim's plans, not a promise. She'll be successful regardless of the path she chooses.