Sei Young Kim won the BMW Ladies Championship to be the LPGA Tour’s 27th different winner this season. Her win broke the record for the most different winners in a single season.
Kim’s 62 (-10) on Thursday and two other rounds in the 60s set her up perfectly going into the final day. She started her final round with a four-stroke lead over the United States’ Yealimi Noh and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka. Her lead was too much to overcome, and a final round of 67 (-5) sealed the wire-to-wire victory for her 13th LPGA victory. Kim had this to say after winning in her home country.
“I think it took me more than ten years to win a victory in front of my family and friends. It means so much to me. It is a tournament that I really wanted to win, and I find that I can’t express my words about it. I really had good energy from all the fans, and I really appreciate and am thankful for that,” she said.
2024 BMW Ladies Championship winner, Hannah Green, had a nice performance this week ending in T5. Green recorded all four of her rounds in the 60s for just the second time this season. She was pleased with her result this week.
“Yeah, obviously it has been a while since I’ve had this form. So it’s nice to see what I’ve been working on is actually paying off. I think the team at home helped with the mental reset, just not getting too ahead of myself and not thinking too much into the future. I am really pleased with today’s round. I got off to a heater. So it was nice to finish strong with three birdies to end,” she said.
With her win, Kim earned $345,000 in prize money and 500 points in the season-long competition, Race to CME Globe. She jumps up 11 places to seventh place. Runner-up Nasa Hataoka moves up 18 spots to 21st place.
The LPGA Tour continues in Korea next weekend for a team-style tournament. Eight countries will compete at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown at New Korea Country Club. Thailand will look to defend the title after its victory in 2023.
