Kim doesn’t let this one escape

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — I.K. Kim banished the haunting memory of missing a 14-inch putt to win a major and replaced it with the sweetest sensation.

Finally, she can call herself a major champion.

Staked to a six-shot lead in the Women’s British Open, Kim never let anyone get closer than two shots at Kingsbarns Links and sealed victory with a bold hybrid over the burn to the 17th green. She made nine pars on the back nine and closed with a 1-under 71 for a two-shot victory.

“I cannot describe my feelings,” Kim said. “I just tried to have some fun, but it wasn’t fun on the back nine.”

Jodi Ewart Shadoff made her work for it by charging home with a 64 to put pressure on the South Korean. Kim, 29, didn’t falter over an increasingly soggy course, however. She finished at 18-under 270 to capture the championship.

Michelle Wie went out in 30 to give Kim something to think about, but the 27-yearold stalled and closed with a 66 to tie for third with Caroline Masson (67) and Georgia Hall (70).

Kim now has won three times, the most by anyone on the LPGA Tour this year, all in the past two months.

She was no more than a foot away from winning the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship for her first major when she clasped her hand over her mouth in disbelief when it spun out of the hole. She lost in a playoff, and it was tough to shake. Until Sunday.

“I almost cried when I won. Winning is great,” Kim said. “It’s a long process to get over 2012. A lot of people helped me. Now I enjoy playing golf again. What it did teach me is to give the same effort to every shot, even the shortest of putts.”

Ewart Shadoff matched

the course record — reached earlier this week by Wie and Olympic gold medalist Inbee Park — and got within two shots of Kim with her eighth birdie of the round that put her at 16 under.

Seemingly impervious to the pressure of leading, Kim sailed along in the damp, overcast

conditions, her steady play offering little encouragement to a chasing pack that also included the likes of Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks), Park and Moriya Jutanugarn.

Lewis finished in a tie for seventh at 11 under and won $79,197. LPGA TOUR Women’s British Open

AP/KENNY SMITH Korea’s I.K. Kim putts for birdie on the third hole Sunday on her way to winning the Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns Golf Links at St. Andrews, Scotland.