South Korean golfer Kim Sei-young has captured her ninth LPGA title, winning the Marathon Classic tournament in Sylvania, Ohio.
The 26-year-old shot a 22-under 262 to win the four-round tournament on Sunday (local time). She shot a six-under 65 on the last day to edge out Lexi Thompson of the United States by two strokes at the par-71 Highland Meadows Golf Club.
The win marked Kim's ninth career title on the LPGA Tour and her second of the year.
(Yonhap)
The 26-year-old, who picked up a check of $262,500, is one of four players with at least two victories this season, alongside fellow South Koreans Park Sung-hyun and Ko Jin-young, and Canadian star Brooke Henderson.
So far in 2019, six South Koreans have combined to win nine out of 19 LPGA tournaments.
Kim's first title of 2019 came at the LPGA Mediheal Championship in May. Kim, the 2015 LPGA Rookie of the Year, has claimed at least one title every year since her first season.
She started the final round nursing a one-shot lead over Thompson at 16-under, while South Korean rookie sensation Lee Jeong-eun was alone in third place at 12-under.
Kim and Thompson were in the final pairing, and Kim opened a three-stroke lead thanks to a combination of her birdie at No. 2 and Thompson's bogeys at the first and fourth holes. Kim poured in five straight birdies starting at the seventh hole and the lead ballooned to six through 11 holes.
Even after her lone bogey of the round at the 16th, Kim still had a five-shot cushion with two holes to play. Thompson closed out her day with a birdie and an eagle to make the final margin more respectable.
Lee, the leading money winner who has virtually locked down the Rookie of the Year honors, finished in fourth place at 14-under after a 69 on Sunday. Another South Korean rookie, 19-year-old Chun Young-in, shot a nine-under par to tie for 11th place, her career high. (Yonhap)
