Kim A-lim wins LPGA season opener for 3rd career title
LPGA champion Kim A-lim, right, and Celebrity champion Joe Pavelski, left, holds the trophy after winning the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions LPGA golf tournament in Orlando, Fla., U.S., Feb. 2. AP-Yonhap
Korea's Kim A-lim has gone wire-to-wire to capture the LPGA season opener in Florida for her third career title.
Kim won the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions by two shots over Nelly Korda of the United States at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando on Sunday (local time) at 20-under 268. Kim shot a five-under 67 in the final round and was the only player to shoot in the 60s in all four rounds at this tournament.
Kim, 29, cashed in the winner's check of US$300,000.
The no-cut tournament featured 32 LPGA winners over the past two seasons. Kim, who won the Lotte Championship in November 2024, led after each of the first three rounds in Orlando and then held off Korda, world No. 1, for the victory.
"Today, overall the game was good," Kim said. "I think what I was trying to pull off today, I got it done."
Kim started the final round at 15-under, three shots ahead of Linn Grant of Sweden. Lydia Ko of New Zealand, the defending champion, and Korda were both lurking at 11-under after 54 holes.
Playing in the final group with Grant and Ko, Kim bogeyed the third hole but bounced back with birdies on the next two holes.
With Grant stuck in neutral and Ko taking herself out of contention with two bogeys over her first three holes, Korda made a charge on the front nine and got to within two strokes of Kim at one point.
The American star birdied four of her first six holes, including three in a row starting at No. 4. After going bogey-birdie to close out the front nine, Korda made the turn at 14-under, three back of Kim, who also birdied the ninth hole.
Korda then cut Kim's lead to two with a birdie on the 11th. Australian star Minjee Lee also caught fire Sunday. After making four birdies on the front nine, she collected four birdies and an eagle on her first six holes on the back nine, reaching 14-under to sit just three behind Kim.
Kim birdied the 11th to regain her three-shot lead over Korda at 18-under.
Then the tournament took a dramatic turn when Kim had a three-putt bogey on the 12th and Korda birdied the 13th. The two-shot swing slashed Kim's lead to just one shot.
Lee ran out of holes and finished at 14-under after shooting a bogey-free 62, leaving Kim and Korda to battle for the crown down the stretch.
Korda briefly pulled into a tie with Kim with a birdie on the par-five 15th, only to see Kim match that birdie on the same hole minutes later.
Kim then drained a clutch birdie putt on the 16th to get to 19-under and go up by two again with two to play.
Korda holed a long birdie putt on the 18th hole to finish at 18-under, putting pressure on Kim to grab at least a par on the final hole to win the tournament in regulation.
Unfazed, Kim dialed in from long distance for a finishing birdie that sealed her two-stroke win.
Kim said she watched the scoreboard and enjoyed the competition with Korda. But Kim also said she stayed focused on her own game.
LPGA champion Kim A-lim, right, reacts to the crowd after being announced as the winner of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions LPGA golf tournament in Orlando, Fla., U.S., Feb. 2. AP-Yonhap
When asked if she was concerned at any point that Korda was going to catch her, Kim replied, "I don't think so, because I felt really good, and I still had more chance (because I was playing in a group behind her)."
Four other Koreans were in the field. Ko Jin-young tied for fourth at 14-under, while Kim Hyo-joo tied for 10th at eight-under.
Ryu Hae-ran shot five-under to finish tied for 14th, and Amy Yang tied for 22nd at one-under.
After Kim clinched the victory, Yang doused her countrywoman with water on the final green, and the two shared a big hug.
"She's my hero," Kim said of the 35-year-old Yang. "When I was young, I watched her all the time. She helps me a lot all the time."
In 2024, Kim was one of only three Korean winners in the LPGA, joined by Yang and Ryu. The three wins by Korean players were the lowest total for the country on the LPGA Tour since 2011. (Yonhap)