NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Sei Young Kim shot a sensational Seven-Under 63 title on Sunday to take her first major title at the Women's P.G.A. Championship.
Kim, a 27-year-old South Korean, finished 14th under 266 on the Aronimink golf course. She participated in the tournament with 10 tour wins, the most active players without a major championship.
Her 63rd was the best round of the tournament. She finished five shots ahead of number two, Inbee Park, who shot a solid 65 on Sunday.
"Sei Young was just really untouchable," said Park.
Kim, a 2016 Olympian, was second at the Women's PGA 2015 Championship and tied for second at the Evian Championship in 2018. She once led 54 holes in a major, during the ANA Inspiration 2015, where she finished in a tie for fourth place.
She sealed the championship on Sunday with an unforgettable round. Her fifth birdie of the day, at 14th par-3, gave her a four shot lead over Park and put her at 12 under for the championship.
She made $ 645,000 for the victory. Kim has at least one win in every L.P.G.A. Tour season since 2015.
"It was just so hard to believe she had never won a major because it felt like she won a few," Park said.
Nasa Hataoka and Carlota Ciganda tied for third at seven below. Anna Nordqvist (bottom four) and Brooke Henderson (bottom three) both played in Kim's group, finishing fifth and sixth.
Kim is the latest addition to a growing list of first-time big winners in recent years, a sign of growing equality. Her win means that nine of the last 10 great champions had never won one. She joins Sophia Popov (Women & # 39; s British Open) and Mirim Lee (ANA Inspiration) as this year's top champions.
Kim dazzled at another event without the roar of the galleries – though Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry hiked the trail – and hold off a hard-charging park. Park had three birdies on the first nine when she tried to match Mickey Wright with a fourth record win at the Women's P.G.A. Championship
"I thought 65 would certainly do," said Park. “I thought maybe five to six is a good number to post some sort of post and see what happens. But of course Sei Young was just way better than anyone out there today.
As she approached 18, the trophy that was visible to her, almost everyone at Aronimink was standing along the ropes. She received a big ovation after her tap-in sealed the win.
With Paul Fusco in the bag, Kim tied a tournament record with a 29 in the front nine on Friday and shot a 32 for the front nine on Sunday. Fusco kept it loose and even walked up to a reporter to compliment an article (& # 39; really cool & # 39;) before Kim walked out on number 8.
Kim hit the putt of her life at Tiburón Golf Club in November, a 25-foot birdie on the final hole of the CME Group Tour Championship to win $ 1.5 million, the richest prize in history of ladies golf.
The money is much less at Aronimink – but the prestige means so much more.
The tournament was postponed for three months due to the coronavirus pandemic and ended its final round on a packed sports Sunday. America's PGA had to get creative with the tee times, with NBC having other programming commitments over the weekend, and the leaders – including Kim – departed at 8:49 am history, including the 1962 PGA Championship won by Gary Player. Aronimink golf course was designed by Donald Ross in 1926 and is not scheduled until the PGA Championship in 2026.