Kim Hyo-joo wins LPGA Tour opener
Kim Hyo-joo / Yonhap
Korea's Kim Hyo-joo captured the 2016 LPGA Tour season opener in the Bahamas on Sunday after a nearly flawless final round.
Kim won the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic at 18-under 274, thanks to a final round of seven-under 67 on Sunday at the par-73, 6,625-yard Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island.
It was Kim's third career LPGA victory. The 20-year-old scored eight birdies against one bogey on Sunday.
Kim began the round tied for third with two others at 11-under, one stroke behind co-leaders Anna Nordqvist and Charley Hull. After getting pars on her first three holes, Kim went on a birdie binge with four over her next five holes, making the turn at 15-under.
Then she had three consecutive birdies from 12th to 14th to reach 18-under with four holes to play. Kim had her first bogey of the day at the par-4 16th, dropping to 17-under and only one ahead of Stacy Lewis, who birdied 13th, 14th and 15th playing in a group behind the South Korean.
Kim promptly restored her two-strike lead with a lengthy birdie putt at the par-3 17th and finished off with a par at the par-5 18th.
Defending champion Kim Sei-young, playing in the same group with Kim Hyo-joo Sunday, finished two shots behind her countrywoman in second place. (Yonhap)