Arim Kim Cheers in Hawaii... 'Wire to Wire' Victory

Lotte Championship: Four Consecutive Days Leading the Field with High Spirits
Second Win in 3 Years and 11 Months, Korea's Third Victory
Gu Se-ba 2nd, Ko Jin-young 7th, Kim Hyo-joo 9th

Kim Arim collected a victory trophy for the first time in over four years.

Kim Arim is cheering after making a birdie on the 3rd hole of the 4th round at the Lotte Championship. Photo by Daehong Communications

On the 9th (local time), at the Hoakalei Country Club (par 72, 6,536 yards) in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, Kim scored six birdies and two bogeys in the final round of the LPGA Tour Lotte Championship (total prize money $3 million), finishing 4-under par to win by two strokes with a total score of 18-under 270. She maintained the top spot on the leaderboard for all four days, achieving a 'wire-to-wire' victory. This marks her second tour win in 3 years and 11 months since winning the major US Women's Open in December 2020. The winner's prize money was $450,000 (approximately 626 million KRW).

Kim Arim was not an LPGA member when she won the US Women's Open. This is her first victory since becoming an LPGA Tour member by winning this tournament. South Korea secured its third win this year following Yang Hee-young's victory at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June and Yoo Hae-ran's win at the FM Championship in September.

Rookie Nataliya Guseva (Russia) performed well, finishing second by one stroke at 16-under 272. This is her second runner-up finish and fifth top-10 entry, following a tie for second at the Portland Classic last August. South Korea's Ko Jin-young finished seventh (12-under 276), and Kim Hyo-joo tied for ninth (10-under 278). Lee So-mi tied for 15th (8-under 280), KLPGA member Lee So-young tied for 26th (5-under 283), and Hwang Yu-min finished tied for 35th (3-under 285).