Sydney’s Grace Kim has all but secured her promotion to the LPGA Tour in 2023 with her third top-five finish of the season at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in Michigan.
Two back at the start of the final round at Battle Creek Country Club, four birdies kept the 21-year-old within two of the lead with just four holes to play.
A bogey at the par-5 15th would ultimately bring her chances of a second win this season to an end, a birdie at the par-4 17th helping to wrap up a tie for third two shots out of the playoff won by China’s Xiaowen Yin.
Victorious at the IOA Golf Classic in May, Kim was tied for fourth at the Ann Arbor’s Road to the LPGA tournament. Her latest top-five finish solidifies her position in third place on the Race to the Card standings and puts her $24,000 clear of 10th.
The top 10 at season’s end will earn promotion to the LPGA Tour in 2023 and with just eight events remaining, Kim is one good finish shy of ensuring she will mix elite with the elite of women’s golf on a weekly basis next year.
After both made the cut in Michigan Gabriela Ruffels (T30) and Sarah Jane Smith (T38) are 13th and 14th respectively on the moneylist, Robyn Choi moving to 18th spot after finishing in 22nd position.
There was a significant jump too for Cam Davis at the penultimate event of the PGA TOUR season prior to the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
The defending champion at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Davis closed with a Sunday 67 and a share of 14th, 11 shots back of Tony Finau who won for the second straight week.
As a result of his finish – his fourth consecutive top-20 finish – Davis has moved up 10 places in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, greatly enhancing his chances of securing one of the 70 spots on offer for week two of the Playoffs.
Jason Day’s tie for 17th – his best result in three months – will guarantee he qualifies for week one of the Playoffs while Adam Scott bounced back from a 78 on day three with a round of seven-under 65 on Sunday, equal to the second-best round of the day.
With just the Wyndham Championship prior to the playoffs, Scott is 73rd in the FedEx Cup Eligibility Standings.
World No.2 Minjee Lee closed with a round of four-under 68 at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open to carry momentum into this week’s final major of the year, the AIG Women’s Open.
Three birdies in her opening six holes had Lee making a move, a move that stalled with a run of five straight pars.
She had two bogeys and three birdies in her final seven holes to end the week in a tie for 18th, now moving on to Muirfield for the final major of the year.
Results
LPGA Tour
Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open
Dundonald Links, Ayrshire, Scotland
Winner Ayaka Furue 69-68-68-62—267 $US300,000
T5 Lydia Ko 65-65-71-71—272 $62,271
T18 Minjee Lee 67-72-71-68—278 $27,665
T34 Hannah Green 72-67-72-71—282 $12,082
MC Stephanie Kyriacou 71-74—145
MC Su Oh 74-73—147
MC Whitney Hillier 74-76—150
PGA TOUR
Rocket Mortgage Classic
Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Michigan
Winner Tony Finau 64-66-65-67—262 $US1.512m
T14 Cam Davis 68-73-65-67—273 $153,300
T17 Jason Day 69-70-69-66—274 $128,100
T37 Adam Scott 69-66-78-65—278 $36,540
MC Aaron Baddeley 70-72—142
MC Geoff Ogilvy 74-72—146
MC Brett Drewitt 80-77—157
WD Cameron Percy 73
DP World Tour
Hero Open
Fairmont St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
Winner Sean Crocker 63-66-69-68—266 €297,500
T12 Daniel Hillier 66-70-68-69—273 €29,137.50
T22 Ryan Fox 68-70-71-67—276 €17,937.50
T41 Dimitrios Papadatos 66-71-71-70—278 €9,450
T49 Josh Geary 69-68-74-68—279 €6,850
MC Zach Murray 68-71—139
MC Scott Hend 70-70—140
MC Jake McLeod 70-72—142
MC Jarryd Felton 72-72—144
MC Blake Windred 73-71—144
MC Austin Bautista 72-75—147
Epson Tour
FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship
Battle Creek Country Club, Battle Creek, Michigan
Winner Xiaowen Yin 67-68-68—203 $US30,000
Won on the first hole of sudden death playoff
T3 Grace Kim 69-68-68—205 $10,898
22 Robyn Choi 72-69-68—209 $2,338
T23 Emily Mahar 73-69-68—210 $2,036
T30 Gabriela Ruffels 71-72-68—211 $1,555
T38 Sarah Jane Smith 71-70-71—212 $1,147
70 Soo Jin Lee 71-71-78—220 $575
MC Amelia Garvey 73-73—146
MC Julienne Soo 77-70—147
MC Julianne Alvarez 76-71—147
MC Hira Naveed 76-74—150
PGA TOUR Canada
Sothebys International Realty Canada Ontario Open
Woodington Lake (Legend Cse), Tottenham, Ontario
Winner Noah Goodwin 64-68-68-67—267
MC Cameron John 77-73—150
MC Will Barnett 75-75—150
Legends Tour
The JCB Championship
JCB Golf & Country Club, Uttoxeter
Winner Alex Cejka 69-66-70—205
T42 Michael Long 75-71-75—221
T42 Peter Fowler 72-71-78—221
T47 Richard Green 76-76-70—222
52 Michael Campbell 73-77-73—223
T53 Peter O’Malley 72-79-73—224
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Invitational Bedminster
Trump National, Bedminster, New Jersey
Winner Henrik Stenson 64-69-69—202 $US4m
T19 Matt Jones 72-73-69—214 $200,000
22 Travis Smyth 69-73-73—215 $172,000
46 Wade Ormsby 73-76-75—224 $124,000
47 Jediah Morgan 77-74-78—229 $120,000