PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Chan Kim can’t wait to start changing her baby’s diapers. First, he hopes to get his PGA Tour card back for the 2026 season through PGA Tour Q School.
The Hawaii-raised 35-year-old took a step in the right direction Thursday with a bogey-free 6-under 64 on the Soybean Valley course at TPC Sawgrass to take a one-shot lead after the first round at Q School.
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Kim’s first child, daughter Jenna, was born three weeks premature and has spent the past month in the hospital with dropsy. Hydrops is a life-threatening condition for a fetus characterized by the accumulation of fluid in the lungs, or edema.
“The first two weeks were very emotional,” Kim said, noting that her daughter had a small blood clot in her heart. “Doctors didn’t know if she was going to survive, and that just added a lot of stress to us. But every day we’re getting good news and her lab is getting back to great shape.”
What’s the best news? Jenna came home on Wednesday. Kim missed the birth because his wife required an emergency caesarean section. He was competing in the Tour’s Worldwide Technology Championship in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, but missed out on a spot in 12th place.th Time in the past 15 games as a starter.
With time running out to secure next year’s card, Kim continued to compete in the final two fall events while Jenna was receiving treatment in the NICU.
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“I was so focused on that that nothing else mattered at that point,” he said.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL – DECEMBER 11: Jang Kim reacts on the seventh green during the first round of the PGA Tour Q School Presented by Cohn F1 Lee at the Soybean Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass on December 11, 2025 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Kim was 8 over after 11 holes at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, but recovered to finish T-22. He also competed in the RSM Classic, but it wasn’t enough to get his season back. He finished 130th in the FedEx Cup standings, losing full status and returning to the final stage of the PGA Tour Q-School with hopes of earning five of the 176 spots. For Kim, Q-School is nostalgic. For Kim, Q-School has been through Canadian Tour Q-School, Asian Tour Q-School, Japan Tour Q-School twice, and he has even achieved Challenge Tour status at the European Tour Q-School Off. He finished second in the 2022 PGA Tour Q School.
“It’s easier said than done, but at the end of the day, this is just another tournament where you try to win,” he explained. “I’m not just focused on finishing in the top five, I’m here to win. So that was my mentality at Q School.”
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It didn’t matter that Kim’s putter was hot on Thursday. He sank a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 7, a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 9, and estimated it was closer to 35 or 40 feet on No. 11.
“I missed all the easy ones, but I made all the difficult ones,” he said.
One cut, three more, and Kim can go back to her dad’s job. That will require countless diapers in the near future. (He’s replaced one so far.) A PGA Tour card will go a long way toward paying for next year.
“I have to find a way to at least earn money for diapers,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Chan Kim leads PGA Tour Q-School after newborn released from hospital
