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Kim Hyo-joo defends Aramco Korea Championship title with 7-under

Published: 11 May. 2025, 19:07

PAIK JI-HWAN
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Kim Hyo-joo hits a shot during the Aramco Korea Championship at New Korea Country Club in Goyang, Gyeonggi on May 11. [YONHAP]

Kim Hyo-joo defended her individual title at the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Korea Championship with a seven-under-par, 209, at New Korea Country Club in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Sunday, becoming the first Korean contender to do so.

Kim, who finished the second round of the individual contest as the sole frontrunner with a four-under-par, 140, carded a three-under-par 69 in the final round for a final score of seven-under.

Kim dropped down in the standings in the early stages of Sunday’s round, but re-climbed up to the frontrunner spot by making a birdie on the par-3 11th hole, before making five pars and two more birdies through the 18th hole.

“As the winner of last year’s championship, people all around me told me, ‘you have to win this time as well,’ and I had that in mind while I was playing the whole time, so this all brings back all great memories,” Kim said. “I’m very thankful for my fans who are all here to support me. I think it’s a great win today.”

Kim Hyo-joo looks on during the Aramco Korea Championship at New Korea Country Club in Goyang, Gyeonggi on May 11. [LET]

Team Kim, consisting of Kim, Ginnie Ding of Hong Kong, Ariane Klotz of France and Daniela Darquea of Ecuador, tied for seventh at 16-under-par in the team contest.

The three-day Aramco Championship consists of two events: a two-day 36-hole stroke play team event in which each team competes for the team title and a three-day 54-hole stroke play individual event.

The two events are one and the same for the first two days, with the competitors playing in the team event, and their individual scores counted simultaneously for the individual event.

The team event follows the “two-from-four” format, where the two best scores on each hole are combined and used as the team’s score. The team with the fewest strokes wins the team event.

Sunday’s victory adds more success to Kim’s run this year, having finished in the top 10 four times on the 2025 LPGA season and lifted one trophy at the Tour’s Ford Championship in March.

Kim is not just the only Korean two-time champion, but remains the only Korean golfer to have won the individual title at the Aramco Team Series that started in 2020, with a runner-up finish from fellow LPGA veteran Ko Jin-young in 2023 being the second-best result by a Korean.

Kim also showcased her talent through the Aramco Championship in front of her fan group “Shooting Star,” who wear red “H.J. Kim“ caps to show support for the LPGA star.

The seven-time LPGA winner can greet fans again later this year, with the LPGA’s BMW Ladies Championship teeing off in Paju, Gyeonggi, in October.

This year’s Aramco Championship, meanwhile, did not include as many amateur golfers as last year, during which 36 amateurs competed alongside 108 pros in the team event, but the tournament still saw one team with only amateurs — Team Park with Park Seo-jin, Yang Hyo-jin, Nam Si-eun and Choi Jung-won — who joined the field as Korea Golf Association invitees and tied for 11th in the team contest.

All of them, except for Nam, made the cut to the top 60 and ties and competed through the final day, with Park finishing solely in third, Choi tying for 17th and Yang tying for 52nd.

The Aramco Team Series has three more tournaments scheduled this year, with the next competition teeing off in London in August.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]