[PHOTOS: Maddie Meyer]
Nearly four years and 99 starts since A Lim Kim’s maiden LPGA title in the 2020 US Women’s Open, the South Korean broke through in the Lotte Championship for her second career LPGA victory. Going nearly wire-to-wire, Kim closed with a four-under 68, including a birdie at the par-5 18th, and held on for a two-stroke win at 18-under. She beat Russian rookie Nataliya Guseva by two shots and American rookie Auston Kim by three. Here is how Kim won at Hoakalei Country Club on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
Leaderboard
Win: A Lim Kim (-18)
2: Nataliya Guseva (-16)
3: Auston Kim (-15)
4: Nasa Hataoka (-14)
T-5: Ryann O’Toole (-13)
T-5: Yuri Yoshida (-13)
What it means
Kim’s win ensures the South Korean’s spot in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, jumping her from 65th to 22nd in the points standings. The 29-year-old had a muted 2024, posting three top-10s, and was in danger of missing the CME for the first time in her career.
In her post-round interview with Golf Channel, Kim described the challenges of learning golf in the US since her major triumph in 2020. The golf course grasses were different than her homeland, and though possessing an outgoing personality, Kim struggled to adjust to new culture in America. Kim, whose nickname is “Queen”, emphasised her comfort now after four years in the States.
The $US450,000 winner’s cheque pushes Kim to her first official million-dollar season, in her four-year career, as Kim’s $US1 million winner’s cheque from the US Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in 2020 didn’t count towards her official career money.
How it happened
Kim could not get separation almost all week. She led by a stroke after the first round, was in a four-way tie for the lead through 36 holes and held a one-shot advantage going into the last round over 21-year-old Guseva. Kim’s lead was even tighter as she made the turn, holding onto a one-stroke advantage over four players – Nasa Hataoka, Auston Kim, Ryann O’Toole and Gueseva.
But the final-nine scoring slowed for all the chasers except Guseva, who finished runner-up in the Portland Classic in August. Auston Kim’s putter cooled, and she posted 10 straight pars before a birdie on the last earned a career-best third-place finish. Hataoka bogeyed the final two holes, and O’Toole, chasing a second career title, played the final nine in even-par.
With birdies on 11 and 13, Guseva was a stroke behind A Lim Kim with two holes to play. Kim missed a 30-foot birdie try at 17, while Guseva made an impressive par save by draining a 12-footer to stay down by one.
Both had irons in hand for their second shots into the par-5’s green, but the Russian’s approach left her an awkward 60-metre pitch for her third. Kim’s wind-aided 306-metre drive left her 187 metres to the hole. She immediately club-twirled as her second ended up on the fringe, pin-high.
Guseva’s third went into the rough, and her last-gasp chip-in attempt skimmed just past the cup. Kim needed to get down in three to win, two-putting for birdie and bowed to the crowd before starting her celebration.
Aussie watch
Defending champion Grace Kim began the final round on the fringe of contention before closing with a 71 that left her in a tie for 11th. Robyn Choi (T-35), Steph Kyriacou (T-43) and Hira Naveed (MC) were the only other Australians in the field in Hawaii.
CME Points bubble watch
The Lotte is the penultimate event before the CME field is finalised, with the top 60 players in points eligible for the finale. O’Toole, who lost to Nelly Korda in a playoff at the Se Ri Pak Championship in March, jumped 11 spots with her T-5 to 55th. Hyo Joo Kim’s T-9 bumped her from first outside the bubble at 61st to 58th, letting the six-time winner defend a spot in the CME in this week’s The Annika tournament.
With three players moving into the CME field, three players were bumped out. Hinako Shibuno’s missed cut pushed her from 58th to 62nd. Gaby Lopez, with a T-20, dropped from 60th to 61st. Carlota Ciganda, who did not play this week, slid from 59th to outside the top 60.
Quotable
“Everything is getting better on my shot, short game, and the green [reading], and then more familiar,” Kim said. “Next year I think getting better than this year, so hopefully.”
