KIM PICKS UP SECOND WIN

IN-KYUNG KIM PICKS UP SECOND WIN OF SEASON AT MARATHON CLASSIC

For the second time in 2017, In-Kyung Kim is a winner on the LPGA Tour.

Kim, who won the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer in June, came into this week’s Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I having missed her last two cuts. But, as is the case with golf’s unpredictability, she fired an 8-under-par 63 (the best round of the day and tied for low round of the tournament) Sunday, and Kim put the finishing touches on a four-shot victory.

“I think today the pin positions were a little bit comfortable for me,” she said of the key to her sizzling finish. “I’ve been hitting little draws this week, and when the pin is tucked on the left side, I was having a hard time, but I think just knowing what I’m doing kind of helped me to plan out the round.”

Kim was bogey-free on Sunday, and went out in 6-under-par 28. She said she was playing with a clear mind all day, which helped her stay focused, despite an hour-long rain delay.

“It’s golf. I really didn’t expect anything. Maybe I think that’s why I played really well today,” said Kim “Really good names are on top of the leaderboard, and I just wanted to go out and make the most out of it, and today I was able to do that.”

For Adam Stanley’s full recap of final-round action, visit http://www.lpga.com/news/2017-in-kyung-kim-wins-marathon-classic-final-rd-recap

STARS AND STRIPES ABOUND IN TOP 20

The Solheim Cup will return to U.S. soil at Des Moines Golf & Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 18-20, 2017. With the Marathon Classic in the books, Team USA hopefuls have just two more opportunities to make their case for a spot before the teams are announced following the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

Members of Team USA are decided by the top eight U.S. Solheim Cup points earners, two players from the Rolex Rankings not already qualified by points and two captain’s picks.

Thirteen Americans finished within the top 20 at the Marathon Classic, led by runner-up Lexi Thompson, who earned 30 points and continues to hold the No. 1 spot in the team rankings. Gerina Piller is ready for her upcoming trip to Des Moines after earning 28.5 points with her tie for third and remains at No. 3 in the standings.

“I feel like any time you can represent your country is one of the greatest honors, and it’s just a special tournament, and there’s no tournament like it,” Piller said on Sunday after her round. “It’s just one of those things where I would love to play it every year.”

Kim Kaufman earned 24 points for her T6 showing and is projected to move from 19th to 17th. Third-round leader Nelly Korda, who is under consideration from USA Solheim Cup Captain Juli Inkster for one of her captain’s picks, earned 21 points for her T8 finish.

Heading into the Marathon Classic, Angela Stanford was 12th in the Team USA point standings with 211 points while Brittany Lincicome was 11th with 216 points. Stanford and Lincicome tied for eighth on Sunday and earned 21 points in the process. Lincicome and Stanford are expected to leap Lizette Salas and Austin Ernst, who both finished outside the top 20 in Ohio.

After her bogey-free round on Sunday, Stanford said she’s ready to know if she will be donning the red, white and blue for the seventh year at the Solheim Cup. “I’m kind of ready for these next two weeks to kind of be done,” Stanford said. “I’m going to give it everything I’ve got, and it is what it is.”

Solheim aside, with 13 players in the top 20 at the Marathon Classic, American players continue to have a solid showing. Through 20 events of the 2017 season, American players have taken home four tournament titles: Lincicome (Pure-Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic), Cristie Kerr (LOTTE Championship), Thompson (Kingsmill Championship) and Danielle Kang (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship).

During the 2016 season, Thompson (Honda LPGA Thailand) and Brittany Lang (U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA) were the only Americans to take home a tournament title.

RACE TO THE CME GLOBE UPDATE

With her win, In-Kyung Kim earns 500 points and is projected to move from 34th to 16th in the Race to CME Globe with 1,232 points.

CME GROUP CARES WEEKENDS UPDATE

Players scored two eagles over the weekend at the 2017 Marathon Classic, raising $2,000 for charity. This brings the total to 138 eagles on the year, which translates to $138,000 dollars raised.

QUOTABLE

“My really good friend, actually a fan from here, he comes to other tournaments, and he knows that I love Beatles and

Paul McCartney, and he gave me this, and I put it on, and just like, dang, just good vibe, I think.”

                - In-Kyung Kim on her Beatles ball marker

“17-under, I’m never going to complain with that. I did my best. That’s all I can do.”

                - Lexi Thompson on her fifth runner-up of the season

“It’s just good knowing, wow, I shot a low round, like I’m capable of it, so it gives definitely confidence going into next week, which is something that’s good to have in those types of conditions.”

                - Jaye Marie Green on her momentum heading into the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open

QUICK HITS

This is In-Kyung Kim’s sixth career LPGA victory and second of the season, joining the 2017 ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer.

Kim is the season’s second multiple winner, joining her countrywoman So Yeon Ryu; Ryu won the ANA Inspiration and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

Kim’s final 72-hole score of 263 shatters her previous low of 268, which she set at the 2016 Reignwood LPGA Classic.

Kim’s final-round 63 ties the lowest score of her LPGA career, joining the first round of the 2011 Honda LPGA Thailand.

Kim returned a 6-under 28 on her opening nine holes; it is the first 28 registered on the LPGA Tour since Lydia Ko at the 2016 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

This is the 11th time this season that the winner has returned all rounds in the 60s.

Seven of the last 11 winners of the Marathon Classic have been from the Republic of Korea. 

Kim came just two strokes shy of Se Ri Pak’s tournament scoring record of 23-under 261, which she set in 1998.

This is Lexi Thompson’s fifth runner-up finish of 2017, most recently at the Meijer LPGA Classic.

With their earnings this week, Kim ($8,116,591) and Brittany Lincicome ($8,000,538) are the 23rd and 24th players in LPGA history to cross the $8 million threshold.

Kim Kaufman’s T6 finish is her best showing of 2017; her previous best result was T16 at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

LPGA rookie Peiyun Chien (T3) and Sandra Changkija (5th) both set LPGA career-best finishes; Chien, a 2017 LPGA rookie, previously finished T11 at the 2017 Kia Classic, while Changkija’s best finish was T9 at the 2013 Safeway Classic.

Jaye Marie Green fired a 7-under 64 on Sunday, her lowest round of the 2017 season and lowest since scoring a career-low 63 at the 2015 Cambia Portland Classic.