Miami (AFP) – South Korea’s Kim A-lim held off top-ranked Nelly Korda over Sunday’s final holes to complete a wire-to-wire victory at the season-opening LPGA Tournament of Champions. Kim, the 2020 US Women’s Open champion, fired a five-under-par 67 to finish on 20-under 268 after 72 holes at Lake Nona in Orlando.
Kim captured her third career LPGA title and second in three months following her victory at the Lotte Championship last November, holding her nerve as Korda charged. “Today it was not my focus. I don’t care,” Kim said of Korda’s pressure as she began her 2025 campaign. “Good start but that’s all. I’m going to focus on the next tournament and then focus again on my game.”
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Korda, who won seven LPGA titles in 2024, shot 65 to finish two adrift on 270, the 26-year-old US daughter of 1998 Australian Open tennis champion Petr Korda missing out on her 16th career LPGA title. “Not bad,” Korda said. “I’m never going to complain with finishing second in a tournament and giving it a run, especially on a Sunday. Definitely a couple putts I would like to have back but overall I think I’m very happy with this week and I’m excited headed for next week.”
Korda made birdie at the par-5 15th to grab a share of the lead with Kim, who in the next group tapped in for her own birdie at 15 to reclaim the solo lead at 18-under. Kim sank a 12-foot birdie putt at 16 with a fist pump to seize a two-shot edge. Korda birdied the 18th to pull within one but Kim finished with a flourish, sinking an 18-foot birdie putt at the final hole to clinch victory, pumping her left fist in delight.
Sweden’s Linn Grant was third on 273 while Australian Minjee Lee fired a tournament record 10-under 62, also her career-low LPGA round, to finish on 274 and share fourth with South Korea’s Ko Jin-young.
Kim, 29, began the day with a three-stroke lead but stumbled early with a bogey at the third hole. She responded with birdies at four and five and two more at the par-5 ninth and 11th holes to reach 18-under and lead by three shots. But Kim missed a four-foot par putt to make bogey at the 12th, and seconds later Korda sank an eight-foot birdie putt at 13 to pull within a stroke, setting up the tense final stretch. Korda had kept the pressure on Kim, answering a bogey at the third with birdies on the next three holes and following a bogey at eight with birdies on nine and 11.
© 2024 AFP
