Sei Young Kim Leads BMW LPGA Championship in South Korea: Women’s Golf

Sei Young Kim Leads the BMW Ladies Championship with an Impressive Opening Round

HAENAM, South Korea – South Korean golfer Sei Young Kim, along with American Lindy Duncan, stood out in the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship on Thursday. Kim, with a two-decade career on the LPGA Tour, led the leaderboard with an impressive performance. Kim, 32, completed a round of 62 strokes, 10 under par, at Pine Beach Golf Links, thanks to eight birdies and an eagle. Duncan, 34, was two strokes behind, boosted by birdies on three of the last five holes. Hyo Joo Kim positioned herself between both players, signing a card of 63 strokes. Sei Young Kim, who joined the LPGA Tour in 2015, a year after Duncan, has achieved 12 career victories on the circuit, unlike Duncan. Kim consolidated his lead by reaching 9 under par with a birdie on the 15th hole.

I’m close to my hometown, so I have a lot of family, my cousins, a lot of fans. I had a great start from the first hole and up to the 18th hole, receiving a lot of support.

Sei Young Kim

Rio Takeda, with a round of 65 strokes, was in a group tied for fourth place. Brooke Henderson, from Canada, signed a card of 67 strokes, while American Lucy Li achieved a 68, including a hole-in-one on the 13th hole, which earned her a car.

It was a good shot into the wind. I sent it right at the pin. I thought it might be a little short, but it went in. I started freaking out. I thought, this is the hole-in-one hole. I’ve been complaining all week to my caddie about not holing one this year.

Lucy Li

The current champion, Hannah Green, started with consecutive birdies, but her performance stagnated, finishing with 68 strokes, as did Minjee Lee, from Australia. Green’s victory last year was her third of the 2024 season, making her the first Australian player since Karrie Webb to win three times in a season on the LPGA Tour. Green has had recent results on the tour, including a tie for 28th place and a missed cut in Canada in August and a tie for 66th place in Arkansas in September.

My golf game hasn’t been where I’d like it to be. The last few months have probably been the most difficult time I’ve had in my career. I was in Australia for the last three weeks, so I was able to reset.

Hannah Green

This tournament is the first of a series of consecutive events in South Korea, followed by the International Crown team event next week. Jeeno Thitikul became last week the first multiple winner of the season on the LPGA Tour, after a five-hole playoff victory in Shanghai over Minami Katsu, who signed a card of 68 strokes on Thursday in South Korea. Thitikul is not participating this week, but will be part of the Thailand team at the International Crown next week. After the International Crown, two more LPGA events were scheduled on the five-event Asian tour in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and in Japan.