The KPMG Women's PGA Championship Recap- Sei Young Kim Wins First Major in Historic Fashion

Photo provided by Ben Harpring

Sei Young Kim wears red pants on Sundays in homage to Tiger Woods, and it felt like a Woods-esque display of dominance on Sunday at the difficult Aronimink Golf Club. Kim closed out with a bogey-free 63, the lowest closing round by the winner in the history of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, leading her to the all-time tournament scoring record of 266.

Kim sat at (-10) for the tournament on the 10th tee box, three-under on the day, and held a three-shot lead. That was far from secure. Through 63 holes, she was ten under on the front and even par for the back nine.

The 11-time winner's weakness became more apparent through 12 holes when Park made it a two-stroke lead for Kim with a birdie on the difficult par 4. After her third consecutive par to open the back, Kim clicked into a gear arguably only she can find on the LPGA Tour.

The holder of the lowest 72-hole score in the history of the LPGA Tour kicked into birdie making mode, closing the final six holes with four birdies. It started on the 13th when the South Korean attacked the treacherous short-sided pin with a reckless abandon that is a staple of her approach. Kim knocked it to a few feet away to get the birdie train warmed up.

Kim followed with another birdie on the par 3 14th and parring the 15th. Park posted a par on the final par 5 of the tournament after hitting it into the greenside bunker in two. Kim drove it into the rough, and kept her foot on the gas like she was driving in a NASCAR race, taking a five wood to the left rough.

Her 56-degree wedge checked up a few feet past the hole, and like she displayed all day Sunday, the birdie bid dropped in the heart of the cup.

Park birdied the par 3 17th, but it was ceremonial. Kim led by four when she answered Park’s final birdie with a stuffed shot.

It’s been over a calendar year since Kim finished outside of the top 20 in a tournament, with the streak extending to the Volunteers of America Classic that concluded on October 6th, 2019. It’s an 11-event stretch that includes two wins: The CME Group Tour Championship, when Kim outdueled Nelly Korda and Charley Hull on Sunday, and today outdueling Inbee Park.

Kim returned a five-year favor to the Hall of Famer today. Kim finished in 2nd place to Park at the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, losing by five strokes. Today, she bested her by five.

“In the back of my head, I knew that Inbee was going to play well. But it reminded me of 2015 when I played with Inbee for a major championship," Kim shared after play.

The winningest player on tour without a major coming into the week, Kim now adds her name to the hallowed list of South Korean players with a major championship. She’s now tied with Jiyai Shin for the third-most wins by a Korean on the LPGA Tour, trailing hall of Famers Se Ri Pak and Inbee Park.

Kim is the second correct pick since the restart for The Paisley Par.

Top 10

1) Sei Young Kim (-14) (+1800)

2) Inbee Park (-9) (+1800)

T3) Nasa Hataoka (-7) (+1600)

T3) Carlota Ciganda (-7) (+4000)

5) Anna Nordqvist (-4) (+75000)

6) Brooke Henderson (-3) (+1600)

T7) Charley Hull (-1) (+7000)

T7) Jennifer Kupcho (-1) (+9000)

T9) Lauren Stephenson (E) (+30000)

T9) Brittany Lincicome (E) (+22500)

T9) Gaby Lopez (E) (+11000)

T9) Bianca Pagdanganan (E) (+50000)

Kent Picks:

Sei Young Kim at 7.5 units (+1800)- 1

Brooke Henderson at 7.5 units (+1600)- 6

Sung Hyun Park at 5 units (+6600)- 17

Jasmine Suwanapurra at 2.5 units (+7000)- T23

Eun Hi Jee at 2.5 units (+17500)- T18

Total Units Won: 237.5*

Total Units Bet: 225

ROI on the season: +5.6%

This total is updated to reflect getting the money that was originally bet on Danielle Kang back.

Ben Picks:

Brooke Henderson at 8 units (+1600)- 6

Lydia Ko (+2800) at 5 units- T18

Sung Hyun Park at 8 units (+6600)- 17

Kelly Tan at 2 units (+20000)- T13

Jennifer Chang at 2 units (+100000)- T44

Total Units Won: 0

Total Units Bet: 25

ROI: N/A

Ben’s Picks of the Week Analysis

Picking Brooke Henderson at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is always a safe bet. Brooke had a disappointing Sunday performance, but the goal with bets is to have a player in a position to win. Henderson had that chance once again in the final group, trailing eventual winner Sei Young Kim by two with 18 holes to go. It was a round that started slowly and never got going for the Canadian.

Lydia Ko was an interesting selection. Right now, her consistency shows her game is in a position to win. The last time we saw her in close contention, her decision-making cost her a win in Ohio at the Marathon Classic, and it feels like it's less likely than 28 to 1 she'd overcome that, particularly at this difficult of a golf course. She had a mental lapse on a three-putt from four feet on 12 on Saturday that particularly highlights the concern. Kelly Tan is in a similar position: she's been in contention through 36, then the reality that she's in contention hits and she falls off the pace. Once both these players express belief in themselves through 72 holes again, even if they lose in a closing effort, is when I'd consider betting on them. Tan's odds were far more appealing at 200 to 1 though. That's value.

I have to imagine Sung Hyun Park’s odds start adjusting back towards what one might think for a top 10 player in the world. She’s improving week over week, and as long as her odds are around this number, it’s worth continuing putting units on.

Jennifer Chang is a good case study. There's value, but did she objectively have a chance to win? This felt so remote a possibility. She shot four over on Sunday after being four over for the tournament, but a top 10 felt like a better bet. Unfortunately, not many bookkeepers offer this bet for the LPGA Tour, and MyBookie did not this week.

Kent’s Picks of the Week Analysis

Sei Young Kim

Can’t say much about this other than… GREAT PICK!

Sei Young picked up her First Major Championship at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She looked in absolute control of every aspect of her game in the Final Round. Holding a 2 shot lead going into Sunday, Kim goes bogey-free -7 (63) to win by 5 shots! (Are you kidding me?!)

There were plenty of reasons to pick Sei Young. Her recent Top-10 streak, never finishing outside the Top-25 in five appearances in the Championship and leading the LPGA in scoring average this season. Along with the fact she had 10 LPGA wins on her resume. The most amongst active players without a Major. A Major Title was the only thing missing, and it has been a question of "when" and not "if" for Kim. This week she put it all together on one of golf's biggest stages.

Jasmine Suwanapurra

Solid week for the 2-time LPGA Tour Winner. She finished T23 at +4 total for the week. Her putter let her down a little bit in Round Two where she carded her only round over par, +4 (74). She finished with 33 putts on Day Two and could not quite make up any ground on the weekend. To be fair, no one was going to catch Sei Young Kim this week, as she finished at -14. However, there were only 8 players that finished under par, and Jasmine’s week was very good overall.

Not a bad pick at +7000 odds.

Eun Hee Ji

The Major Champion’s odds were +17,500 this week. Her recent past success (at least one win in 2017, 2018, and 2019) combined with her generally consistent play made her a good pick at these odds. Ji finished this week’s Championship at +3 for the week, and in a Tie for 18th. No one was going to make enough birdies to catch Kim this week, but overall, a strong Major Performance for the LPGA Tour veteran.

Brooke Henderson

I picked Brooke because of her recent success (T6 and T2) in her last two events, as well as her success at KPMG Women’s PGA Championships. The all-time winningest Canadian golfer finished the week in solo 6th place at -3. However, she was -5 entering the Final Round, and only two behind eventual winner Sei Young Kim. With her aggressive style of play, it was a little surprising to see Henderson drop on the leaderboard. But golf is tough, and she will learn from this experience I'm sure. Overall, I feel very good about this pick. Brooke finished 6th and had a legitimate chance at the title going into the Final Round. Can't ask for much more.

Sung Hyun Park

I picked Park at +6,600 odds this week, and I would pick her at those odds every single time! She is a two-time Major Champion and possesses one of the most dynamic and explosive games in all of golf. This week she did not quite get it rolling. She had at least 30 putts in every round. However, she did not play poorly at Aronimink Golf Club. The Championship only saw 8 players finish under par, and Sung Hyun was not far off. She finished the week at +2 total, and in solo 17th place. A solid performance that should propel her to more success as the season continues.