HONOLULU — Rising Australian Grace Kim won the LOTTE Championship Saturday at Hoakalei Country Club for her first LPGA Tour title, defeating Yu Liu and Yu Jin Sung with a birdie on the first hole in a playoff.
As Liu and Song lunged after hitting their second shot to the left of the green at the 5 18th, 22-year-old Kim went over the water to the right, then chipped to 8 feet to set up her birdie.
“I definitely wanted to do well knowing the green wasn’t the best, I think, from the angle we were on,” said Kim. “I had to admit I wasn’t planning on going that aggressive. I hit it right. So just letting you guys know. Yeah, I guess, yeah, I got lucky.”
Liu put on an even footing, and Song had bogey, hitting her third on the green and passing Kim’s second.
“I didn’t really have high expectations,” Kim said. “Just really tried to play my game. I wasn’t trying to force anything. Just trying to go with the flow. I’m still speechless because it’s already kind of done and job done.”
Playing alongside Song in the final three-set, Kim shot a 4-under 68, bouncing off a bogey on a 4-par-4 to birdie the final two holes. I went up and down the left front bunker on the 18th in regulation, making a 7-foot putt.
“I think after Ghost 14, I just tried to give it my all.” Kim said. “I did my best and it was a good result. Birdie on 17, of course, was great forward momentum, so definitely gave him an aggressive lead on 18, and he beat him twice, which was good.”
Song finished with 69, hitting up and down from the right front bunker in 18 with a 9-foot putt. The 22-year-old South Korean has been playing on a sponsors exemption after winning the LOTTE OPEN Championship last year at the Korean LPGA.
“A very interesting and good experience for my golf life,” said Song. “Very good experience.”
Liu started the fifth round of strokes behind Song in a tie for 15th, then hit a 64 – the best score in two years at Huakali – to score 12-under 276 hours before the final set.
“It was a bit unexpected, to be honest,” said the former Duke player. “I felt very stressed out today.”
Lenny Strom, the Swede playing the second-to-last set, missed a 10-foot birdie effort on 18 minutes to finish a stroke with Peiyun Chen. Strom shot 69, with a double bogey in the 14th. Shin, from Taiwan, closed with a score of 67.
“Hit a good shot,” Strom said. “I just misread it a bit.”
Thailand Natakrita Vongtafilab, who tied for the lead after each of the first two rounds, had 70 to tie for sixth at 9-under. The 20-year-old Vongtaveelap was making her second LPGA tour start. In February, she won her first two events as a professional on the LPGA Thailand Tour, then came runner-up to Lilia Vu on the LPGA Thailand.
Lauren Hartlag (70) f Georgia Hall (71) They were 9 under.
The highest-ranked player in the field, No. 7 Brock Henderson, had 71 catches tied for 11th in the 7th. She is the only multiple winner in the history of the event, taking the 2018 and 2019 titles in Ko Olina.
The Chevron Championship, the first women’s major of the year, will be held next week in Texas.
Kim got an unexpected trip to Houston.
“I actually didn’t sign up until Superstition Week because I thought I had no chance of getting into Chevron,” Kim said. “When I heard other people say they could get a shot, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, you know what?’ I’ll just enter. “Just topped it off today. So excited.”