Sei Young Kim reduces 8-shot advantage to just 2 strokes in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES — Sei Young Kim held an eight-stroke advantage with five holes remaining on Saturday at El Caballero Country Club during the JM Eagle LA Championship. She ultimately had to recover from behind the 18th green to maintain a two-shot lead.
“Oh, wow, it feels like a roller-coaster,” remarked the 33-year-old South Korean.
Her late struggle, marked by four consecutive bogeys, provided two-time event champion Hannah Green and others, who believed they were competing for second place, an opportunity on Sunday in the final tournament before the season’s first women’s major.
“It’s golf. It can happen again,” Kim stated. “It’s about learning and then learning some more. Mistakes happen, and then you learn. Hopefully, there will be success at the end of the day tomorrow.”
Kim recorded a 1-under 71, bringing her total to 15-under 201. Green, the 2023 and 2024 champion at Wilshire Country Club, shot a 67 to join Suvichaya Vinijchaitham (67), Jessica Porvasnik (68), and Ina Yoon (71) at 13 under. Former UCLA standout Patty Tavatanakit was another stroke behind after a 67.
“I’m just going to go out there and play golf,” Tavatanakit commented.
The tournament is being hosted at El Caballero for the second consecutive year due to course renovations at Wilshire. The Chevron Championship is scheduled for next week in Houston, marking the first of the five women’s major tournaments.
Starting the day one shot ahead, Kim birdied the par-5 first hole and all the odd-numbered holes on the front nine, sinking a 20-footer on the par-3 ninth for a seven-stroke lead. She extended her lead to eight before falling back with bogeys on holes 14 through 17.
“Every hole is downwind starting from 15 to 18,” Kim explained, noting that she hit into the water on 16 while aggressively targeting a challenging pin. “I was struggling with the downwind today.”
She claimed the BMW Ladies Championship last year in her home country of South Korea, marking her last of 13 LPGA Tour titles.
“I’m very confident, but I just keep doing what I’ve been doing the last couple of days,” Kim said. “That’s what I can do best. So we’ll see tomorrow.”
Green has secured three worldwide victories this year, including the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore on the LPGA Tour, as well as the Women’s Australian Open and Australian WPGA in her native country.
“I don’t really know where they will place the pin locations for tomorrow, but I’m sure they will be challenging, and some holes may play easier,” Green noted. “I’ve observed that the wind has shifted at times over the last two days, which will be tricky to navigate. The ball is traveling far off the tee.”
Amateur Asterisk Talley was tied for 23rd at 7 under after a 69. The 17-year-old Talley is participating in her first event since relinquishing the lead on the back nine at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
During the round, the sponsors increased the purse by $1 million to $4.75 million.
