Kim A-lim Kim of Korea plays a shot on the 11th hole during the final round of the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei 2024 at Hoakalei Country Club, Nov. 9, in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. AFP-Yonhap
Korean golfer Kim A-lim has captured her second career LPGA Tour title.
Kim won the Lotte Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, on Saturday (local time) after shooting 18-under 270.
Kim carded a four-under 68 in the final round to hold off Nataliya Guseva of Russia by two strokes and enjoyed her first victory since the 2020 U.S. Women's Open, 1,426 days ago.
Kim, who grabbed the winner's check worth $450,000, became the third Korean player to win on the tour this year, joining Amy Yang and Ryu Hae-ran.
Kim entered the final round nursing a one-shot lead over Guseva at 14-under.
Kim made a bogey on the second hole but then bounced back with birdies on three of the next four holes to reach 16-under. Another bogey on the eighth dropped her to 15-under, with a few players below, including Nasa Hataoka of Japan, making a run.
Kim birdied the 10th hole to regain a two-stroke lead over four players at 16-under, only to see Hataoka get back to within one shot with a birdie on the 13th, her sixth birdie of the final round.
Kim pushed her lead back to two with her second consecutive birdie on the 11th hole, pumping her fist emphatically after draining the putt.
Kim A-lim of Korea celebrates with the trophy after winning the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei 2024 at Hoakalei Country Club, Nov. 09, in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. AFP-Yonhap
Kim saved par on the par-3 12th after missing the green but nearly holing out her second shot on the fly.
Guseva wasn't going away without a fight, as she birdied the 13th to get to 16-under, now just one back of Kim.
Hataoka joined Guseva at 16-under after sinking a long birdie putt on the 16th green.
But Hataoka fell off with a bogey on the 17th. With the Japanese player running out of holes, Guseva had the best shot at catching Kim down the stretch.
Hataoka shot herself out of contention by dunking her second shot on the par-5 18th into a water hazard fronting the green.
Guseva made a tough par save on the 17th to stay one behind Kim going into the 18th hole.
Kim just missed the green to the left with her second shot on the par-5 hole, while Guseva, after lying up short of the putting surface, sent her third shot well off the green to give Kim some opening.
Guseva nearly chipped in for a birdie before settling for par, and Kim sank her birdie putt to cap off the long-awaited title.
Kim A-lim of Korea plays a shot on 4th hole during the final round of the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei 2024 at Hoakalei Country Club, in this photo provided by Daehong Communications, Nov. 9. Yonhap
Kim said afterward not getting caught up in the result helped her throughout the tournament.
"My focus was always the same: not on the result, but on my process, and then routine, and then thinking and choosing my line and then go," she said at her press conference. "It did not really go well, to be honest, at the beginning. But I just told myself I'm going to do what I set out to do. I just trusted myself."
She said making a bogey on the second hole served as a wakeup call, calling that moment the turning point of her final round.
"After my bogey, I started to focus really well, and my mind was sharp so I started playing even better," Kim added.
Kim said she did not feel stressed out about trying to close out a win on the back nine. Instead, she found it "super fun."
"I haven't felt this way in a long time so I just had a lot of fun," she said. "I felt great during the Asian Swing (two weeks ago) and playing a game that I really enjoy. I think that really helped out."
With this victory, Kim was projected to jump from No. 67 to inside the top 25 in the Race to CME Globe standings, virtually securing a spot for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, which starts Nov. 21 with only the top-60 players in the field. (Yonhap)