Sei Young shatters scoring records
new york — Sei Young Kim watched her 12-foot birdie putt break toward the hole and disappear into the cup, putting her in territory no one had ever been on the LPGA Tour.
She reached 30-under par in the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. And she wasn’t finished. Kim added yet another birdie, closed with a 7-under 65 and wound up her historic week on Sunday in Wisconsin at 31 under for a nine-shot victory.
“I never thought I’d shoot 31 under,” Kim said. “I really feel incredible.”
She was every bit of that in a week so dominant that she now has two LPGA scoring records all to herself.
Kim’s 31 under broke by four shots to par the record she had shared with Annika Sorenstam. Kim won the 2016 Founders Cup at 27 under, while Sorenstam won the 2001 Standard Register Ping at 27 under, the tournament where the Swede shot 59.
“After the Founders Cup, I got new goals,” she said. “I wish I could break up the (tour) record. It’s really unbelievable.”
Kim also set the 72-hole scoring record at 257, finishing with three straight pars to break the mark by one shot.
The 25-year-old from South Korea opened with a 63, followed with a 65 and shot a 64 on Saturday to reach 24 under, which tied Sorenstam’s 54-hole record in 2003 at the Mizuno Classic in Japan, a 54-hole event.
“In a word, phenomenal,” said defending champion Katherine Kirk, who finished 15 under and tied for 20th. “We knew that you could go low around this golf course, but she’s taken it to a whole other level.” —