Sei Young Kim became the 27th different winner on the LPGA, setting a record for the 75-year-old organization. The winner’s carousel stopped only once – last week for world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, who became the season’s first repeat winner – but otherwise it’s been a steady stream of faces since January.
For Kim, the BMW Ladies Championship title ends a drought that dates to November 2020. That her 13th LPGA title came on home soil made it that much sweeter.
“I think it took me more than 10 years to win a victory in front of my family and friends,” said 32-year-old Kim. “It means so much so me. It is a tournament that I really wanted to win, and I find that I can’t express my words to all of it. I really had good energy from all the fans, and really appreciate and thankful to that.”
This marks the second time Kim has gone wire-to-wire on the LPGA, with the first coming at the 2019 CME Group Tour Championship. She either set or matched a tournament scoring record all four rounds, with her 24-under performance setting a new 72-hole record.
Kim finished four strokes ahead of Japan’s Nasa Hataoka. A Lim Kim and Celine Boutier tied for third at 18 under.
After entering the final round with a four-shot lead, Kim saw her lead dwindle down to one stroke after she bogeyed her third hole, and American Yealimi Noh birdied the fourth.
It didn’t stay tight for long, however, as Kim rattled off three consecutive birdies on Nos. 5-7 to regain a three-shot advantage.
She led the field at Pine Beach Golf Links with 26 birdies.
When Kim turned professional, she started wearing red pants on Sundays as an ode to Tiger Woods and a way to be remembered. The thought crossed her mind on Sunday that if she didn’t win the BMW, she might not wear Sunday red again.
Alas, the trend will continue.
Kim noted that made some changes recently to how she problem solves. Rather than sticking to the same methods, she realized it’s more her style to have an impromptu approach, mixing things up and pushing through. It’s fitting for the athletic Kim, who holds a third-degree black belt in Taekwondo.
“I was very nervous from the very beginning, since it has been a while since I played in the last group, I wasn’t sure whether this was real,” said Kim. “So I really was questioning myself.
“I did miss birdie chance on the first hole and made a bogey. And A Lim was really chasing me by one shot, she’s a very aggressive player, so I thought I should play aggressively, as well. That attitude continued until the end of the round. My father always told me when I’m nervous, don’t back off and I tried to remember that mindset.”
Kim won $345,000 for her efforts and crossed $15 million in career earnings. She’s thinking about money differently these days, too.
“In the past, my standard was to earn a lot of money; that was also part of my goal as a player, but I don’t think that really held,” said Kim. “So from this year, my actual goal is to pull up my World Ranking, and I think that ranking tells a value of player in the world. I will do my best to pull up my ranking.”
One of the winningest Koreans in LPGA history, Kim won her first LPGA major at the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA. She’s had the same caddie on her bag, Paul Fusco, for her entire LPGA career.
“There are so many great players on the LPGA and I was afraid he was actually going to leave me,” said Kim. “But Paul I think is one of the great caddies out there. I wanted to make a good performance so that it’s worthy that he stays with me. I’m really thankful that he’s been working all the way here with me.”
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