Kim Hyo-joo secures sixth LPGA victory with first win of the season

Kim Hyo-joo has secured her inaugural victory of the season in the U.S. Women's Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour, achieving a "wire-to-wire" triumph and marking her sixth career win.

Kim concluded the fourth round of the LPGA Ascendant LPGA tournament, which took place at the Old American Golf Club in Texas on Monday, with a 2-under par 69. Her round included four birdies and two bogeys. Kim Hyo-joo's total score for the tournament was 271 strokes, finishing at 13 under par. She outperformed the second-place duo, Bianca Pagdanganan (Philippines) and Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), by a margin of four strokes to clinch the victory. This triumph marked her first win in one year and six months since her last victory at the Lotte Championship last April. Additionally, her earnings of $270,000 from this win propelled her total season prize money beyond $2 million for the first time since her debut on the LPGA Tour.

Since her victory at the Lotte Championship, Kim Hyo-joo secured third place on three occasions last year. She consistently performed well, achieving top-10 finishes in eight of the 16 events she participated in this year. Her exceptional shot-making abilities led her to second place twice and third place once, but she had been chasing that elusive winning trophy. She finally quenched her long-standing thirst on Monday with her first wire-to-wire win since her debut. Kim is now set to return to Korea to compete in the upcoming LPGA Tour BMW Ladies Championship, scheduled to take place at Seowon Hills Golf Club in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, starting from Oct. 19. With Kim Hyo-joo's victory on this day, Korean players notched their second consecutive win on the LPGA Tour and their fourth win of the season.


hun@donga.com