BG’s Kil aims to finish with a thrill

Jiho Kil didn’t want to be bored when he went golfing, so he would always ask his little sister Grace to come along.

“When my brother said ‘Let’s go golf,’ I said what the heck is that?” said Grace, who along with her brother was born in South Korea. “I had never heard of it.”

Well, turns out everyone who follows high school girls golf has probably heard of Grace Kil now.

One of the top golfers in the state, Kil holds nearly every school record for the girls sport at Buffalo Grove.

The list includes the 18-hole round (68), 9-hole round (33), lowest season 9-hole average (37.1), lowest 18-hole round (73.5) and lowest Mid-Suburban League average (37.4).

When the Bison scored a school record 163 for a dual meet against Deerfield on Wednesday, Kil contributed a 1-under par 35 at the Deerfield Golf Club.

Fifth-year BG coach Matt Myers believes Kil’s desire to excel is what has gotten her the point of being one the state’s top golfers.

She was fourth in the IHSA state tournament last season and was in contention right to the final hole.

Making it even worse was that Kil hit one of her most solid 3-wood shots of her career on the decisive hole, but it landed in water, and she finished with a double bogey.

“That last hole totally killed me,” Kil said. “I hit pretty much one of my most solid shots ever but it ended up my worst ever. Oh, that’s golf.”

A sport that Kil has managed to master at the high school level.

“I think Grace’s strength is her constant desire to improve,” Myers added. “And her work ethic on the golf course is tremendous. We’ll finish practice, then Grace will work on her game for another hour or two.

“And she’s always willing to change her swing, or do whatever it takes to shave off a couple of strokes here or there.”

Kil would like to keep her strokes to a minimum this postseason and try to become the school’s third girl to win an MSL individual crown.

Shannon Byrne won in 1999 and Jen Lentz triumphed in the early 2000s.

In fact, Kil would love to repeat what former Conant and current Wisconsin golfer Kris Yoo did, winning the conference, regional, sectional and state meet as a senior.

“I really looked up to her,” Kil said. “And I want to hit a home run like she did her senior year. She got the grand slam and that’s kind of what I want to do.”

Kil has certainly shown she has the potential.

Last fall, she tied for fourth in the MSL meet. She was eighth as a sophomore and third as a freshman, just a few years after she began playing competitively.

When she was 8 years old, Kil was playing multiple sports, including basketball and softball.

“My brother thought the only sport he might be able to do was golf, so he took some lessons,” Grace said. “I’d tag along with him and the only club I had was a little 5-iron for kids.”

A short time later, Kil’s parents Ho Kil and Susan Kim purchased a full set of clubs for their only daughter.

“It was only for that reason they wanted me to try and play in an Asian Newspaper tournament at Cog Hill,” Grace recalled. “My dad said, ‘We’ve got to get her a full set for that.’”

Grace used the clubs with authority, winning her age group with a score of 111 and kicking off her love for the game. “I’m pretty much the only person in my family who plays golf,” said Grace, whose brother Jiho is now a senior at Illinois studying economics.

Kil, who lists Se Ri Pak, Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer as her favorite LPGA golfers, is unsure where she will attend college but USC and Oklahoma State have shown some interest in her golf game.

If she can’t make it to the LPGA tour, she would like to be a police officer. Kil said she may also study education to have as a backup.

She also wouldn’t mind teaching the game of golf.

“Grace has kind of acted as a third coach (Myers is assisted by Chris Von Grondelle) for us the last three years,” Myers said. “If she notices something in a teammate’s swing, she’ll act like a second coach in her spare time and work with those kids, I think she has really taken on a leadership role in that regard.”

One of Kil’s biggest high school tournament wins came in Conant’s 2011 Early Bird Invite when she fired a 72. She started the round with a 236-yard drive that landed one foot from the par-4 16th hole at Fox Run Golf Links in Elk Grove.

“Grace’s work off the tee has always been nice,” Myers said. “When her approach shots are on she is one of the most dangerous golfers around. She gives herself a chance to shoot under par and not every girl can do that.”