The day after Newborn finally comes home, Chan Kim opens the last leg of Q-School with a lead of 64

Chan Kim was as relaxed as ever on Thursday at TPC Sawgrass, where after a frustrating and emotional end to his fall season, the 35-year-old Kim opened the final leg of the PGA Tour Q-School with a 6-under 64 lead around the Dye’s Valley Course.

It’s no coincidence that Kim’s newborn daughter Jenna went home for the first time a day earlier.

Chan Kim had just missed the cut at the World Wide Technology Championship in early November, his 12th trunk slam in 15 starts, when he got a call that his wife, Sally, had been rushed in for an emergency C-section about three weeks after Jenna’s due date. Kim hopped on a plane back to Phoenix as quickly as possible, but still missed his firstborn’s entry into the world.

Jenna was born weighing about 10 pounds, more than two pounds of that extra fluid from what doctors diagnosed as hydrops, a “serious, potentially fatal condition in unborn or newborn babies that involves widespread fluid buildup in body tissues and organs.” Kim said doctors initially gave Jenna a 30 percent chance of survival. She was immediately admitted to the NICU.

“The first two weeks were very emotional,” Kim said. “Doctors didn’t know if she would survive, which in turn just put us under a lot of stress. … I was so focused on that that nothing else really mattered at that moment.”

While his daughter fought for her life, Kim, well outside the top 100 in FedExCup points after retaining his card as a rookie the year before, made the difficult decision to keep fighting for his job. He flew to Bermuda, came in the day before the tournament and promptly restarted 8 through his first 11 holes.

Earlier this year, Kim’s mind was clouded by all kinds of swinging thoughts. But with his heart and soul mostly at home, Kim’s approach of simply finishing his rounds as quickly as possible and immediately hopping on FaceTime with his wife seemed to be working. He fought back for a T-22 in Bermuda and then covered his fall with a T-41 at the RSM Classic with bookend 66s. He still finished No. 130 in points, but he had done enough to guarantee his exemption into the final stages, where he would have one last chance to retain full status.

“I said, you know what, I’m just going to go outside, hurry up and play some golf, come back in and call the wife, see how the baby is doing,” Kim explained of his approach. “Yeah, that’s about it.”

Kim has been back and forth between the golf course and the hospital in recent weeks. He proudly exclaimed that he had already changed a diaper, and more importantly, he says that Jenna’s condition is improving daily. Her labs look great, and once she is done with the medication to help with a small blood clot in her heart, she will have that behind her as well.

“Everything else is looking really good right now,” Kim added. “Like I said, she’s home, so that’s always a good sign. Yeah, now the fun begins.”

Kim arrived in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Sunday to begin his preparation for Q-School. He is a veteran of the qualifying tournament, having completed Q-Schools in Asia, Japan, Europe and a few years ago on the Korn Ferry Tour. Kim can’t fully explain that success, only that he treats it like a normal tournament, where he tries to win and not just finish in the top five.

He’s on strong pace after Thursday, where he made a pair of long birdie putts at Nos. 7, 9 and 11, the latter from 40 feet. He also kept a clean sheet as he is one ahead of Greyson Sigg and two ahead of a tie for third place with Michael Feagles, AJ Ewart and Luke Gutschewski.

Everyone is fighting for their livelihood this week, though few have the perspective Kim now possesses. Golf isn’t everything is more than just a saying for Kim. Still, he would love nothing more than to take home another card, this time for Jenna.

“At least I have to find a way to make diaper money,” Kim joked. “Hopefully I can continue to play well this week.”