South Korea’s Sei Young Kim claimed a four-stroke victory at the 2025 BMW Ladies Championship to end a five-year title drought and earn her 13th career win on home soil.
With rounds of 62-66-69-67, Kim ended on a total of 24-under-264 at South Korea’s Pine Beach Golf Links. Her opening round was the lowest of the week that set her ahead from the start. On Sunday, she held a four-shot lead but had pressure put on early on by America’s Yealimi Noh, who opened with a birdie and made it within a single shot of Kim after the Korean bogeyed the 3rd. But Kim followed her only dropped shot with pars and a string of birdies on holes 5, 6, 7 and 9, to reach 22 under by the turn. She rolled a couple more at the 14th and 15th that saw her pull clear from the chasing pack.
Japan’s Nasa Hataoka had a late birdie burst but it only took her within four strokes of Kim as the LPGA Tour veteran comfortably claimed her long-awaited victory, marking her first since the Women’s PGA Championship in 2020.
“I was really nervous from the morning, and I stayed that way on every hole,” Kim said afterwards at the post-tournament presser. “I couldn’t really believe I had a chance to win this tournament. And when Yealimi got to within one, I felt a bit intimidated because she is an aggressive player. But I decided to match her aggressiveness, and I was able to stick to that plan the rest of the way.”
She went on to admit the worry over when her title drought would end had hung over her for a while.
“I got to a point where I told myself that I would win at some point, whether it be five years or 10 years down the road,” she said. “It’s so hard to get back on track once you’ve lost your way. Now that I’ve finally won after such a long time, I want to keep winning.”
Hataoka finished runner-up on 20 under, whilst third was shared between France’s Celine Boutier and South Korea’s A Lim Kim on 18 under. Noh shared fifth place with the Australian and defending champion Hannah Green on 17 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown taking place between 23-26 October at Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.