Lauren Walsh and Celine Herbin finished tied for 23rd, one shot ahead of Leona Maguire and Lindy Duncan at the LPGA’s Dow Championship as a closing 62 secured glory for Gina Kim and Yana Wilson.
After alternating from foursomes to fourball and back again over rounds one-to-three, it was back to fourball again for the final round and once again, the low-scoring didn’t suit either of the Irish women or their partners.
Walsh and Herbin birdied four of their first 15 holes but bogeyed the 16th and closed out with two pars for a 67 and a final tally of seven-under, while Maguire and Duncan made three birdies – including a pair back-to-back on 17 and 18 – in a bogey-free 67 of their own to end the week at -6.
Only one team bettered Kim and Wilson’s 62 – that was Jin Hee Im and Somi Lee who finished tied for third at -14 – and the U.S. pairing overtook Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim and Hye-Jin Choi to win by two.
“I haven’t been in a leading position for a long time,” the 19-year-old Wilson said. “Even as a team, I feel like both of us haven’t been in this leading position. We walked down 18 just now and we were like, `Does this feel weird to you? Like this is so weird.′ So it’s a little nervy out there. I feel like we handled it really well.”
Gina Kim holed out from the fairway for eagle on the par-4 fifth.
“I knew I hit a really good shot and I was thinking, `Oh, OK, maybe I’ll tap in in for birdie.′ And then it just disappeared,” she said. “I think that really set the tone for the day.”
The 26-year-old Gina Kim won in her 64th start on the LPGA Tour, while Wilson was making the ninth start of her rookie season.
“This has been the most fun week,” Gina Kim said. “It’s been tough, and it’s nice to have a really good friend to be able to do this by.”
Last year, Wilson — the 2022 USGA Girls’ Junior winner — was second and Gina Kim third on the Epson Tour money list to earn LPGA cards.
“Part of the reason I asked Yana to be my partner is we actually played in the final group on Epson and we’ve played together numerous times,” Gina Kim said. “So, I knew she was really, really good under pressure and I trusted her.”
Hyo Joo Kim and Choi finished with a 65 for solo second, with Somi Lee and Jin Hee Im’s 61 putting them alongside former UCLA teammates Alison Lee and Lilia Vu (64) in a tie for third.
Juli Inkster, who at 66 became the oldest player in LPGA history to make the cut in an official event, teamed with Angel Yin to tie for 12th at 9 under. They shot 64.
“We had an amazing time,” Inkster said. “Angel played amazing.”
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