HONOLULU — Lim Kim won the Lotte Championship on Saturday for her second LPGA Tour title, closing with a 4-under 68 for a two-stroke victory over compatriot Nataliya Guseva.
A stroke ahead of Guseva entering the day at the breezy Hoakalei Country Club, Kim finished the six-hole race with a birdie on the 5th 18th.
The 29-year-old South Korean jumped from 65th to 22nd in the Race to CME Globe to earn a spot in the 60-player season finale that pays $4 million to the winner. She won the US Women’s Open in December 2020.
Guseva was trying to become the first Russian winner in LPGA Tour history. The 21-year-old former Miami player split the final five holes in a 69.
Kim finished at 18-under 270.
Auston Kim tied for third with a 15-under 67. Nasa Hataoka (67) is back, while fellow Japanese players Yuri Yoshida (69) and Ryann O’Toole (70) were 13 under.
Angela Stanford closed with a 71 to tie for 26 at 5 under in what could be her final LPGA Tour event. The 46-year-old Texan has seven touring cars.
“I didn’t feel bad until I looked at my scorecard,” Stanford said. “I said when I come in today I want to be me, I want to play my game. I hit every green on the back nine. Throughout my career my iron game is what I relied on, so this kind of brought me to tears. .”
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