Sei Young Kim is charging toward her 13th career LPGA Tour title in dominant fashion at the 2025 BMW Ladies Championship, holding the lead for the third consecutive day and making history along the way. After carding a three-under 69 in the third round, Kim (currently 19-under par) set a new 54-hole scoring record for the event with a three-day total of 197. Now she has a four-shot advantage as she heads into Sunday’s final round at Pine Beach Golf Links.
While Kim’s third-round 69 may not have been her lowest round of the week, it showcased a couple other important skills: composure under pressure and resilience. Despite tough conditions, Kim was able to not only maintain her spot atop the leaderboard, but she was even able to extend her lead.
“It really was a difficult round,” she said. “The more I think, it really looks like the ones in Wales, the course condition and the level of difficulty, it really was similar.”
If she can hold on, it would mark her first LPGA win since 2020 and her first on home soil.
Trailing not far behind at 15-under are Yealimi Noh and Nasa Hataoka, both of whom had strong performances in the third round to stay close.
Noh fired a five-under 67 — the low round of the day — on Saturday with six birdies and just one bogey. Sitting four shots back, she’s well within range of capturing her second LPGA Tour victory and adding to her already impressive 2025 season that includes a win earlier this year at the Founders Cup.
Also tied for second, Hataoka had a solid third-round 69 thanks to her control and consistency, hitting all 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation. If she can rally for a win on Sunday, it would be her seventh career LPGA title.
Meanwhile, defending champion Hannah Green has also kept herself in the mix, sitting T10 after a third consecutive round in the 60s (69-69-68).
For Kim, Sunday offers more than just another title. It’s an opportunity to complete a wire-to-wire victory at home, joining Ha Na Jang (2019) and Jin Young Ko (2021) — past Korean champions of the BMW Ladies Championship.
With Noh and Hataoka at her heels, the final round is shaping up to be a thrilling fight to the finish. However, as Kim shared after Saturday’s round, the real battle may not be against her competitors, but instead a test of inner strength.
“It’s really a fight against myself,” she said. “I hope to succeed at that tomorrow.”
