Rookie Sei Young Kim Notches 2nd Tour Win at LOTTE Championship
Apr 5, 2015; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA; Sei Young Kim reacts after missing a putt on the 18th during the final round of the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills CC – Dinah Shore Tournament Course. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Sei Young Kim, one of the Tour’s standout 2015 rookies, notched her 2nd victory after an epic final round battle at the LOTTE Championship. It was a moment of redemption for Kim, who had let victory slip from her fingers at the ANA Inspiration two weeks ago, and it was as well a dramatic moment of golf magic. Kim battled for 18 holes against countrywomen Inbee Park and IK Kim, both Tour veterans, and hole after hole the rookie showed what she’s made of — one part grit, one part determination, one part talent. Then, in a playoff against Inbee Park, she holed out from the 18th fairway for an eagle and, when Park was unable to answer in kind, claimed a victory she’d well-earned over one of the dominant figures in women’s golf.
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From the outset conditions at the LOTTE Championship challenged the field this year. The trade winds blew steadily and gusted upward to 25 mph across the challenging Ko’Olina track, further complicating everyone’s game plan and course management strategies. Only four players in the field carded final round scores in the 60s, and none of them were in the final group: Hyo Joo Kim (69), Sandra Gal (69), Shanshan Feng (69) and Ayako Uehara (69).
Sei Young Kim began the final round with a slender lead over Inbee Park and IK Kim but she gave it away with a rocky start, a bogey on the 2nd and a double on the 3rd. IK Kim, who was fighting her own demons throughout the LOTTE, briefly took the lead over the rookie and Park until she, too, stumbled with a double on the 6th.
Park put together a pair of birdies to get out in front by the time the group made the turn, but coming down the back nine with the trade winds howling there was golf magic all around as the three tried to shoot their way out of a tie at 11-under par before they ran out of holes.
IK Kim was making impossible putts, until she lost either her concentration or her touch and bogeyed the 17th and 18th holes. After a valiant battle, IK Kim stepped aside and settled for a solo 3rd finish.
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Inbee Park, who rarely makes a mistake, uncharacteristically shanked an approach shot and missed a couple of short putts that would have given her an edge. The tie held.
Sei Young Kim played textbook-perfect golf until her drive on the 72nd hole took a swim, and still she recovered and saved par — and her tie with Park — with an astonishingly impossible 18-foot chip-in.
The playoff between Inbee Park and Sei Young Kim ended almost as quickly as it began with Kim’s hole-out from the fairway. She did it with an 8-iron from 154 yards. Players, caddies, Golf Channel commentators and fans watched in disbelief as Kim’s ball flew, bounced twice — in the right direction — and dropped ever-so-gently into the cup.
What a finish!
Inbee Park, reflecting on the final round at the LOTTE Championship and Sei Young Kim’s victory, summed it all up nicely:
"She’s a good player. . . She’s already won twice this year and she has definitely proven herself that she can compete out here. She’s a great player; I think she’s a great fighter."
Kim’s now running 2nd in the year-long Race to the CME Globe and will move up in the Rolex Rankings. We’ll see more of Sei Young Kim reaching for the top of the leaderboard, this year and for years to come, beginning next week at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic where she’s very likely to challenge Lydia Ko in much the same fashion as she did Inbee Park.