Hyo Joo Kim shoots a sizzling 64 en route to fourth-career victory in Singapore

It was a final day unlike any other in Singapore for the HSBC Women’s World Championship. Eleven of the top-12 players heading into Sunday were already LPGA Tour winners, with 60 victories between them and 17 major championship titles. Among them, five shots out of the 54-hole lead, was Hyo Joo Kim. Kim was looking to improve upon a third-round that featured six birdies, six pars and six bogeys.

“Those six bogeys I made were short putts missed. Usually I'm very confident with my putter. So I just tried to focus when I needed to make the short putts, and I think that it's concentration that makes the difference,” said Kim through a translator. It certainly was the difference for the 25-year-old on Sunday, as she recorded her lowest 18 holes since the 2019 Amundi Evian Championship with a bogey-free 64 to earn the fourth title of her LPGA Tour career and first since 2016.

Kim carded four birdies in the last five holes of her front nine to make the turn at -13, putting her right in contention with the likes of major champions Hannah Green and Inbee Park, who were a few holes behind in the final grouping. Kim continued to capitalize in her back nine, making birdies on Nos. 11, 12, 14 and 15, and then awaited the final groups as she sat on the clubhouse lead at -17.

Green, sitting two strokes back of Kim’s lead heading into the 14th hole, holed out to make her second eagle of the week and then birdied No. 16 to take a one-shot lead. But, a disastrous end brought the Australian back down to Earth as she bogeyed her final two holes and played herself out of her third-career win.

“I didn't really feel like I was in it until I holed the shot on 14. That was a nice way to get my momentum. Made a really good putt on 16 to make birdie, but obviously pretty disappointed to have two 3-putts finishing. Felt a little nerves on the last, which is nice, because I guess having the spectators out there it kind of meant something to me,” said Green, who ultimately finished in solo second at -16. “So I'm obviously very close, so I just hope that I can continue this momentum and who knows, have a good result next week.”

Kim watched on a tv in the players’ lounge as she realized she won, and was then thoroughly sprayed with a champagne shower by friends. “My goal this year was to get a win, and I'm glad I already achieved that,” said Kim. “While I was playing on the KLPGA Tour last year, I honed my skills and wanted to adapt them to this year on the LPGA, and I'm very happy that these results came out.”

Patty Tavatanakit, who fired a final-round 65, along with Inbee Park and Xiyu Lin finished in a tie for third at -15. So Yeon Ryu’s second-straight 70 was enough for a sixth-place finish at -12, with Carlota Ciganda, In Gee Chun, Lydia Ko and Gaby Lopez rounding out the top-10 in a tie for seventh at -11. Defending champion Sung Hyun Park finished the event in a tie for 57th at +5.

HYO JOO KIM WITH SECOND GOAL IN MIND: THE TOKYO OLYMPICS

Though Hyo Joo Kim did not play on the LPGA Tour in 2020, the grind didn’t stop for the now four-time winner and major champion. Kim played on the Korean LPGA Tour, competing in 14 events and earning two victories and an additional six top-10 finishes by the year’s end. Kim, who also led the KLPGA in season earnings in 2020, then returned to the states, making her debut back on Tour at the 2021 Kia Classic and finished T5. Kim said she believes the work and achievements from the past year contributed to her strong play at the start of her LPGA Tour season and at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

“Last year playing at the KLPGA Tour definitely helped me this year. I worked out and did exercise a lot and that definitely helped me with distance, driving distance. It was very helpful.”

Though her initial 2021 goal was to win on the Tour again, Kim now has set her sights on a goal on a grander stage – the Tokyo Olympics. Currently No. 9 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Kim is in prime position to represent the Republic of Korea in the Olympic Games this August. The 25-year-old said it wasn’t on her radar as much until her fans encouraged her to work towards making the team, and now she’s hoping her win sets her up for a spot in Tokyo.

“I played at a couple of international tournaments as a Korean representative for like the junior Cups, so it means a lot to me that I would feel very proud and responsible with the Korean flag on my side and I think it will give a huge impact on not only my golf life but my life in general,” said Kim.