NEWPORT, R.I. — It was one of the longest days of Kimberly Kim's young career. It was also one of the greatest experiences of her life.

After 36 grueling holes on a very demanding golf course, the 14-year-old former Big Island resident finished her championship with a less-than-impressive 25-over but it was, nonetheless, a day she won't soon forget — her first U.S. Open.

"I'm glad to be finished," she said, smiling. "It was hard."

Her third round (which began on the 10th tee) started well with consecutive pars, but three straight bogeys put her in an early hole. She closed out the back nine well, however, with four straight pars to give her some momentum at the turn.

She bogeyed the first hole before recording back-to-back pars on the second and third (her only par on the third hole, ranked the second toughest for the week in the entire tournament).

A close approach at the par-3 fifth gave her the only birdie of the day, but consecutive bogeys gave it back. She closed her round with a double bogey on the toughest hole of the championship, the par-4 ninth, to finish at 7-over 78.

After 18 frustrating holes, however, there wasn't much down time before it was time to go out and do it all again.

"I only had about 30 minutes," she said. "I ate, rested, and went back out there.

"I was tired before I even started," Kim said, fidgeting. "I was up at 5 a.m. I warmed up, chipped, putted, hit some balls and that's it."

The final round wasn't much more forgiving. As the winds picked up, every shot became more of a chore. Kim battled through it, however. While bogeys on every hole on the back nine except the 11th and 14th put a damper on the round, Kim improved on the front, making par on four of the first five holes. Unfortunately for the amateur, a bogey at six and a double-bogey at seven showed signs of possible fatigue. She ended with a disappointing 83, finishing in a tie for 66th.

"She gave it 100 percent, she never gave up," caddie Mark Hall said. "She should be proud of the effort.

"This tournament is an endurance race, definitely," he continued. "This is definitely when you see who the most focused players out here are, the ones who can keep going ... (Kim) was driving the ball fairly well, and when she was missing she seemed to be missing (to the) right. There were just a few more putts than I think she would have wanted, and she hit a few less greens today. She had to get up-and-down a few more times than she had to on other days."

While the final numbers aren't glamorous, there is plenty to be proud of. Kim was the youngest player in the field. She was one of only four amateurs out of 29 to make the cut after her even-par 71 on Saturday.

She placed 30th in greens in regulation (56 percent) and she hit more fairways (64 percent) than co-leader Pat Hurst (57 percent) and Michelle Wie (57 percent), who finished tied for third in the championship. Kim's driving ranked an impressive 20th at just over 236 yards per drive. And while her putting was not spectacular (1.76 putts per hole), it was ranked ahead of the LPGA Tour money leader entering the tournament, Lorena Ochoa (1.81).

"It was tough out there," Hall said. "First it was early morning and it's cold and windy, then in the middle of the day it gets hot, and then there's fatigue ... but she needs to experience it. It's her first U.S. Open. She needs to know what everyone else out here is doing."

Kim experienced that and more.

"It met my expectations, definitely," she said.

And as for someday being side-by-side with Wie at a tournament like this, Kim isn't ruling it out.

"I hope so," she said. "I think that's a few years away though. I want to play the Junior Tour first and play in college."

One thing she doesn't want to do, however, is return to Newport anytime soon.

"I don't want to play this course again," she said, laughing. "It was hard."