Nelly Korda made a run at it, but A Lim Kim responded late, making key birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 to fend off the world’s No. 1-ranked player and win the LPGA’s 2025 season opener, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
Kim led by three over Linn Grant after 54 holes at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, with Korda starting the final round tied with defending champion Lydia Ko four shots back.
Korda was 3 under through nine Sunday and got to 17 under to forge a brief tie, but Kim went back up by two with two to go.
On the last hole, Korda, playing in the group ahead of Kim, drained a 30-footer for birdie to get to 18 under, one back, and tried to apply some pressure to Kim, who had to play her second shot from the right rough. But she landed safely on the green, about 20 feet away and then drained a long putt for birdie to close out a final-round 5-under 67 and win by two shots for her third LPGA victory.
“Honestly, so fun, so good. And then I’m hungry, yeah,” Kim said after her round. Was she concerned, though, knowing Korda was chasing? “I don’t think so, yeah, because I feel really good and then still I have more chance because one more hole.”
Holding a one-shot lead on the 18th green, Kim chose not to just nudge it up close and make par. Instead, she poured in a putt that was moving pretty fast.
“18 is like, I want to make birdie because just little downhill and downgrain, but still good line for me, yeah,” she said.
Korda was solo second after her Sunday 65, her best round of the week by two shots.
“This is what I love about golf, being in the hunt on a Sunday going down the back nine,” she said. “I played well. I wish I had a couple of those putts back this week.”
Grant was third after a 69. Minjee Lee shot a final-round 62 to zoom up the leaderboard and finish tied for fourth with Jin Youg Ko.
Kim banked $300,000 from the tournament’s $2 million total purse. Korda earned $227,854 for placing second.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 2025 Hilton Grand Vacations TOC: A Lim Kim beats Nelly Korda to win LPGA season opener
