Seoul: Kim Sei-young won her first LPGA title in nearly five years on Sunday, ending her long drought in her native South Korea. Kim shot five-under 67 in the final round to win the BMW Ladies Championship at 24-under 264 at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, on Sunday. The 32-year-old veteran completed a wire-to-wire victory by holding off Nasa Hataoka of Japan by four strokes. Kim’s previous LPGA win had come in November 2020.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim, who took home US$345,000 in winner’s check, now has 13 career LPGA victories. She is the seventh South Korean to win on the tour this year, joining Kim A-lim, Ryu Hae-ran, Kim Hyo-joo, Lee So-mi, Im Jin-hee, and Hwang You-min. This was the sixth edition of the BMW Ladies Championship, the only LPGA tournament held in South Korea each fall, and Kim is the third South Korean champion, after Jang Hana in 2019 and Ko Jin-young in 2021.

Kim was born in Yeongam, a town about a 30-minute drive from Haenam in the southern part of the country.