Se-young Kim 5th... Saxstrom "First Career Victory"

Gainbridge LPGA Final Day 1 Over Par Struggle, Hataoka's Consecutive Runner-Up 'Tears'

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Kim Se-young (27, Mirae Asset, photo), ranked 6th in the world, was satisfied with consecutive 'Top 10' finishes.

On the 27th (Korean time), at the Boca Rio Golf Club (par 72, 6,701 yards) in Boca Raton, Florida, USA, the final day of the second event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season, the Gainbridge LPGA (total prize money $2 million), Kim finished 5th (11 under par 277) after a disappointing 1-over-par round. Following a tie for 7th place at last week's opening event, the Diamond Resort Tournament, she entered the 'Top 10' for two consecutive tournaments. Madelene Saxstr?m (Sweden) claimed her first victory (17 under par 271).

Starting tied for 3rd place, 3 strokes behind, Kim recorded 3 birdies, 2 bogeys, and 1 double bogey. After a bogey on the 3rd hole (par 3), she seemed to recover with birdies on the 8th and 11th holes, but a double bogey on the 12th hole (par 4) hindered her momentum. A birdie on the 13th hole was offset by a bogey on the 17th hole (both par 3), preventing her from lowering her score further. Her iron shots were shaky, missing the green 7 times, and her putting count rose to 30 per round, failing to create a comeback drama.

Saxstr?m showed strength by making 4 birdies on the 8th, 10th, 11th, and 17th holes after bogeys on the 2nd and 5th holes. Adding 2 under par, she won by a single stroke. On the final 18th hole (par 4), she dramatically sank a 2-meter par putt, while Nasa Hataoka (Japan) missed a 1-meter par putt, securing Saxstr?m's victory. In her debut year in 2017, she earned $300,000 (about 350 million KRW) in prize money. Hataoka performed well with 3 under par but suffered runner-up finishes for two consecutive weeks (16 under par 272).

Daniel Kang (USA) finished 3rd (15 under par 273), C?line Boutier (France) 4th (13 under par 275), and Jessica Korda (USA) tied for 8th (9 under par 279). Lexi Thompson (USA) and Brooke Henderson (Canada) tied for 15th (7 under par 281). From Korea, Ji Eun-hee (34, Hanwha Q CELLS) tied for 28th (4 under par 284), Choi Woon-jung (30, Volvik) and Kang Hye-ji (30) tied for 35th (2 under par 286), and Jeon In-ji (26, KB Financial Group) tied for 45th (1 under par 287) to conclude the tournament.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.