LPGA Tour: Sei Young Kim earns four-stroke victory at BMW Ladies Championship to end five-year winless streak | Golf news
Sei Young Kim ended a five-year winless streak on the LPGA Tour with a four-stroke victory at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.
The former major champion took a four-shot lead into the final day at Pine Beach Golf Links, with Kim maintaining control – at home – by mixing in six birdies with just one bogey during a final round of 67.
Kim recovered from an early bogey at the par-three third to record four birdies over a five-hole stretch starting at the fifth, seeing her round in 33, then extended her advantage with back-to-back gains starting at the 14th.
A three-under par kept Kim at 24 under and comfortably ahead of nearest challenger Nasa Hataoka, who matched her score of five-under 67, while A Lim Kim finished six shots back in tied third alongside Céline Boutier.
The victory is Kim’s 13th on the LPGA Tour since joining in 2015, but the first since winning the inaugural edition of The Annika, formerly known as the Pelican Women’s Championship, in November 2020.
Hataoka birdied four of his final five holes – including each of the final three – to narrow Kim’s margin of victory, with Kim and Boutier’s final rounds both going bogey-free to move them into a tie for third.
“I’m pretty happy with the result,” Boutier said. “I feel like I didn’t really know what to expect at the start of the week, but I’m very happy that I struggled a little and gave myself a few chances, even when it was very windy.”
Defending champion Hannah Green also made three birdies to close a six-under 66 and move into a tie for fifth with Yealimi Noh, who started the day in second but fell back with a final round of 70.
Korean duo Hye-Jin Choi and Narin An shot 63s throughout the day to share seventh place with American Lindy Duncan, while Minjee Lee and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen were part of the group finishing tied for 10th.
A four-under 68 saw Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh finish 19th, while Lottie Woad slipped into the top 25 after making seven birdies in her six-under 66.
What’s next?
The LPGA Tour remains in South Korea for the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown, a team event where Thailand is the defending champion. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 3am on Sky Sports Mix. Get Sky Sports or stream without a contract NOW.
