~IN-KYUNG KIM PICKS UP FIFTH CAREER WIN AT SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC
Topic: SHOPRITE-LPGA-CLASSIC  TOURNAMENT NEWS
In-Kyung Kim In-Kyung Kim of South Korea holds the championship trophy after winning the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer on the Bay Course at Stockton Seaview Hotel & Golf Club on June 4, 2017 in Galloway, New Jersey.
Photo Credit: Hunter Martin/Getty Images
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Written By:
Adam Stanley
@adam_stanley
Adam Stanley is a Canadian golf writer. His work appears regularly for PGATOUR.com as the Web.com Tour Insider, the Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail, and a variety of other international golf publications. He lives in Ottawa with his wife. ?
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In her quest for a three-peat, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist fell two-shots short, as a late bogey derailed her chances at the Shoprite LPGA Classic presented by ACER at the Stockton Seaview Golf Club in New Jersey.
Nordqvist 3Nordqvist held part of the lead during the middle of her round Sunday, but South Korea’s In-Kyung Kim’s 11-under-par total was too much for her to eclipse.
The 29-year-old was vying to become the first two-time winner on the LPGA Tour in 2017 – she won the Bank of Hope Founders Cup earlier this year – but it was not to be, as her 2-under-par 69 Sunday wasn’t enough.
“Just having the honor to back-to-back defend is quite amazing,” said Nordqvist. “I’ve had a lot of supporters cheering me on this week and I really appreciated everyone’s support. There is a little bit of pressure coming into it, but it’s just been fun.”
IK Kim 3The victory at the Shoprite LPGA Classic is the fifth on the LPGA Tour for Kim, who most recently won the 2016 Reignwood LPGA Classic. She spent the better part of the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017 recovering from falling down the stairs. Her start in New Jersey was only her sixth of the year.
“I really didn’t expect (to win) right away, but I knew my game was better than last year,” said Kim. “My trainer, my coach, they had to change so many plans for me because so many things happened last winter. But I just feel so good and I feel all the support.”
Kim, who said Saturday she loved coming to this event because of her relationship with Special Olympics New Jersey, needed only 79 putts on the week. She admitted Sunday she wasn’t prepared for how windy it was going to be all week.
“It was just so windy,” she said. “Trying to keep it in play was tough.”