Grace Kim’s LPGA breakthrough was the only Aussie victory, but runner-up finishes by Brett Drewitt and Kevin Yuan will both have significant ramifications for their seasons ahead.
In just the third start of her rookie season on the LPGA Tour, Kim called upon all of her winning experience to conjure two closing birdies at the Lotte Championship and claw her way into a three-person playoff.
The 22-year-old Epson Tour graduate nearly holed her chip shot at the first playoff hole and buried the birdie putt right in the heart, giving Australia its first LPGA Tour winner since Minjee Lee won last year’s US Women’s Open. Her win guarantees Kim a place in the field for Lee’s US Women’s Open defence at Pebble Beach.
It is Kim’s first win since her victory at the IOA Golf Classic on the Epson Tour last year and credited her experience on the secondary tour in 2022 for how she handled the pressure of the final three holes in Hawaii.
“I’ve learned a lot through the Epson Tour last year,” said Kim, who finished fifth on the Epson Tour moneylist to earn promotion to the LPGA Tour.
“Just being in contention every week, week in, week out, you know, living out of a suitcase, being just on tour life, I guess hit reality for me. Kind of just the taste tester of what life on the LPGA Tour is like.
“I would say it was probably the least nerve-wracking playoff I’ve ever had and I’m quite surprised at that myself. Yes, I was nervous over the putt, but was focused enough to block that out.
“Having that year on the Epson Tour, even though I missed final stage the year before, was the greatest plan for me.”
Drewitt is on course to play his way back onto the PGA Tour in 2024 despite a disappointing final day at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Bank Championship in Texas.
A five-stroke leader at the start of play, when Drewitt made his second bogey of the day at the par-5 10th he found himself two strokes behind and in a tie for third.
He bounced back admirably with birdies at the 12th and 13th to rejoin Spencer Levin at the top of the leaderboard, the pair tied at 19-under par as Drewitt stood on the 17th tee.
As Levin made birdie at the par-5 18th in the group ahead, Drewitt dropped a shot on 17. A sudden reinstatement of a two-shot deficit meant that Drewitt needed to eagle the 72nd hole to force a playoff.
After missing the green left with his second shot, Drewitt’s chip brushed past the side of the hole and rolled out to 12 feet. He showed tremendous resilience to convert that birdie putt and secure outright second, one stroke behind Levin.
It is the 32-year-old’s fourth top-five finish from seven starts this season and is projected to move him up to second on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, the top 25 at season’s end to earn a PGA Tour card.
Another Aussie to enhance their standing on a world Order of Merit was New South Welshman Kevin Yuan.
Closing in on a career-high world ranking, Yuan shot 68 in the final round of the International Series Vietnam and narrowly missed a birdie opportunity on the final hole that would have forced a playoff with Zimbabwean champion Kieran Vincent.
“I gave it my all out there today,” said Yuan, who is now sixth on the International Series Order of Merit.
“Left a few shots out there today and a few shots out there this week, but I’m happy with where my game is and the progression that it’s on.
“It was an awesome round by Kieran and a huge win for him, congrats to him. But overall, I’m pretty satisfied with how my tournament went and looking for more good things to come.”
The result continued a remarkable run of form by the up-and-coming golfer from Sydney, who has made the cut in all eight events on the Asian Tour this season. His result in Vietnam improved upon his previous best finish, which was fifth place at the International Series Thailand last month.
Hunter Valley product Dylan Perry was in contention all week at the Japan Golf Tour’s Kansai Open but faded to finish tied for 15th while Cam Davis banked $US607,500 ($A906,241) for his tie for seventh at the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour.
Results
Asian Tour
International Series Vietnam
KN Golf Links, Vietnam
1 Kieran Vincent 67-65-71-66—269 $US360,000
T2 Kevin Yuan 67-69-66-68—270 $173,000
T13 Travis Smyth 72-66-70-66—274 $28,966.67
T13 Todd Sinnott 70-67-69-68—274 $28,966.67
T16 Doug Klein 66-70-69-70—275 $22,100
T27 Zach Murray 68-71-71-66—276 $16,600
T56 John Lyras 69-69-71-72—281 $7,100
T61 Andrew Dodt 68-72-69-73—282 $6,500
T68 Nick Voke (NZ) 69-71-70-74—284 $5,100
MC Tom Power Horan 69-73—142
MC Jack Murdoch 69-74—143
MC Marcus Fraser 70-73—143
MC Wade Ormsby 72-72—144
MC Scott Hend 72-72—144
MC Jack Thompson 71-74—145
MC Ben Campbell (NZ) 70-76—146
MC Terry Pilkadaris 72-75—147
MC Harrison Gilbert-Wong 72-76—148
PGA Tour
RBC Heritage
Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
1 Matt Fitzpatrick 66-70-63-68—267 $US3.6m
Won on the third hole of sudden death playoff
T7 Cam Davis 70-67-66-68—271 $607,500
T31 Adam Scott 69-68-68-72—277 $107,400
T63 Lucas Herbert 72-67-71-74—284 $43,400
MC Min Woo Lee 71-70—141
WD Ryan Fox
LPGA Tour
Lotte Championship
Hoakalei Country Club, Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
1 Grace Kim 71-67-70-68—276 $US300,000
Won on the first hole of sudden death playoff
T19 Karis Davidson 75-71-70-69—285 $22,854
T38 Sarah Kemp 74-69-73-72—288 $9,576
T38 Stephanie Kyriacou 70-73-72-73—288 $9,576
T61 Su Oh 74-70-75-72—291 $4,804
MC Sarah Jane Smith 77-71—148
Korn Ferry Tour
Veritex Bank Championship
Texas Rangers Golf Club, Arlington, Texas
1 Spencer Levin 66-68-67-63—264 $US180,000
2 Brett Drewitt 64-66-65-70—265 $90,000
T30 Curtis Luck 72-67-66-69—274
T46 Rhein Gibson 69-68-73-66—276
T68 Dimi Papadatos 66-69-76-69—280
MC Steven Bowditch 75-79—154
Japan Golf Tour
Kansai Open Golf Championship
Izumigaoka Country Club, Osaka
1 Taika Simikawa 69-67-64-67—267 ¥16m
T12 Brad Kennedy 69-67-71-70—277 ¥1.616m
T15 Dylan Perry 65-69-70-74—278 ¥1.336m
T44 Brendan Jones 68-70-74-73—285 ¥288,000
MC Andrew Evans 71-73—144
PGA Tour Canada
PGA Tour Canada Qualifying Tournament USA West 2
Soboba Springs GC, San Jacinto, California
1 Charlie Reiter 70-70-64-69—273
T13 Cory Crawford 70-70-72-69—281
T21 Grant Booth 72-74-70-68—284
T74 Alexander Bottrell (a) 74-75-72-74—295
T81 Jerry Song (NZ) 76-72-73-75—296
