Kim A-lim wins first LPGA title since 2020 with Lotte Championship victory in Hawaii

Kim A-lim clinched victory at the LPGA’s Lotte Championship with an 18-under-par, 270, at Hoakalei Country Club in Hawaii with a wire-to-wire run on Saturday, claiming her second title on the Tour and the prize money of $450,000.

Kim A-lim celebrates with the trophy after winning the Lotte Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in Hawaii on Saturday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Kim A-lim clinched victory at the LPGA’s Lotte Championship with an 18-under-par, 270, at Hoakalei Country Club in Hawaii with a wire-to-wire run on Saturday, claiming her second title on the Tour and the prize money of $450,000.

Kim carded a four-under-par, 68, in the final round after making two bogeys, six birdies and 10 pars, allowing her to surpass Nataliya Guseva of Russia by a margin of two strokes.

She took the sole frontrunner position from the first day and tied with three other contenders the next day, but claimed the sole No. 1 spot yet again on moving day en route to her victory.

The first-round score was her best during the tournament, when she carded a six-under-par, 66, with six birdies and one eagle.

Fellow Korean golfers Ko Jin-young and Kim Hyo-joo also finished in the top 10, with Ko finishing in seventh spot and Kim tying for ninth.

Ko Jin-young plays a shot on the fifth hole during the third round of the Lotte Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in Hawaii on Saturday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Ko slipped three spots down on the last day after making a two-under-par, 70, with three bogeys on the fourth, 14th and 17th holes for a final score of 16-under-par.

Kim, meanwhile, climbed up two spots in the final round after finishing it with a bogey-free, three-under-par, 69. That was her only bogey-free round during the competition.

Sunday’s win marks Kim A-lim’s first title on the Tour since her victory at the U.S. Women’s Open — one of the five LPGA majors — in December 2020.

With the title, she becomes the third Korean golfer to secure an LPGA title in the 2024 season after Amy Yang at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June and Ryu Hae-ran at the FM Championship in September.

The victory is redemption for Kim, who failed to land a top-10 finish in the previous five LPGA tournaments.

She has been in solid form this season, however, making the cut in 17 out of 25 competitions on the Tour and finishing in the top 10 three times.

The Lotte Championship was the third to last LPGA tournament of the campaign, which wraps up on Nov. 24.

Two more wins by Korean golfers would match the number of titles won by Korean contenders last season.

Last season saw Ko winning two titles, with Ryu, Kim Hyo-joo and Yang clinching one title apiece for a total of five titles.

This season has seen dominance by Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko, who both made their already trophy-rich cabinets even richer.

Korda added six more LPGA wins this year, while Ko won three titles on the Tour in addition to claiming a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, allowing her to be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Hannah Green and Yin Ruoning have also seen great success this season by winning three titles each.

The LPGA will continue at the Annika, which tees off on Nov. 14 at Pelican Golf Club in Florida. The Tour then heads to Tiburón Golf Club's Black Course, also in Florida, for its final destination of the season.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]