Grace Kim desperately wants a professional win on home soil.

That her first could be presented by an Australian icon whose scholarship she won four times makes this week an opportunity the 24-year-old knows is rare.

Kim was just 21 years of age and less than a year into her professional career when she finished second to Su Oh at the inaugural Australian WPGA Championship at Royal Queensland in January 2022.

Now, three years on, she has won tournaments on both the Epson Tour and LPGA Tour in the US but is yet to claim an outright win in her home country.

For the first time, the Australian WPGA Championship will be played as a stand-alone event co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour this week at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club on the Gold Coast, the Karrie Webb Cup to be presented on Sunday by the seven-time major champion herself.

Webb was unable to attend the final round of the first WPGA Championship in 2022 and has been an influential person in Kim’s life for close to a decade.

“She’s an Australian icon and to be able to spend some time with her firsthand is priceless,” said Kim, who first received the Karrie Webb Scholarship in 2018.

“Having her as a contact is also priceless. She’s obviously really easy to talk to and always reaches out whenever we need help and, obviously, she’s been there and done that before.

“She’s great for advice and just emotional support as well.”

On the second occasion that Kim received the Karrie Webb Scholarship, she and Becky Kay were guests of Webb when Hannah Green – another former scholarship recipient – won the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine.

Six years may have passed in an instant, yet Kim still holds dear a week of learnings and celebrations.

“I am honestly shocked that it’s already March, let alone six years ago,” said Kim.

“Greeny and I spoke about it last year and we were talking about how it was 2019 that she won and it’s already 2024. We’re both on tour and we’ve got a few other Aussie names as well.

“There’s a photo of me in tears when she won, so that just shows how inspirational that was.

“It’s just insane to see how far we’ve come, I guess as a country as well, which is nice to see.”

Webb’s role as scholarship host went to a new level that week.

She manned the barbecue on the Saturday night and then made sure that the Women’s PGA Championship trophy returned with the Aussie contingent back to the house they were staying at on the Sunday night.

Webb will be on trophy duty again this Sunday when she hands over a piece of silverware she had a major hand in designing.

“I’m a very proud Queenslander and a proud Aussie so we’ve got the Cooktown Orchid and the Golden Wattle, which are the two flowers of Queensland and Australia,” Webb explained.

“That is really the essence of me and I hope is the essence of the tournament.”

The Australian WPGA Championship tees off at The Palms Course at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club on Thursday.

The centrepiece of the Gold Coast Festival of Golf, tickets to the 2025 Australian WPGA Championship are now available via Ticketek and are just $15 for adults, with kids 17 and under free.

For those unable to make it to Sanctuary Cove, the Saturday and Sunday of the 2025 Australian WPGA Championship will be broadcast live from 12pm-5pm AEDT on 9GEMHD and 9Now, and on Fox Sports available on Foxtel and Kayo.