Staff WriterThere was a delay, a storm, and then a statement. The BMW Ladies Championship may have started an hour late thanks to a moody sky and unplayable course conditions, but once the action finally began at Pine Beach Golf Links, South Korea’s own Sei Young Kim lit a fire under the tournament with a blistering round of 62 to take the first-round lead at 10-under-par.
The BMW Ladies Championship has rarely lacked drama, but this opener felt different. Maybe it was the energy of the home fans. Maybe it was the proximity to Kim’s hometown. Or maybe the course simply underestimated what a determined player with a hot putter could do to it. Whatever it was, Kim tied the 18-hole tournament scoring record and walked off the 18th green looking like someone who has no intention of slowing down.
“Yes, so this is near my hometown, so I have lots of family, my cousins, a lot of fans,” Kim said after her round. “So I had a great start from the first hole and all the way through 18th hole, getting a lot of support. The course is absolutely wonderful. The layout and the conditions of the course were great.”
You shoot 62, you’re allowed to call the course wonderful.
Precision and Ruthlessness from a Proven Closer
Kim’s opening round was clinical without being robotic, ferocious without being reckless — the sort of round that doesn’t just lead tournaments, it rattles everyone else on the leaderboard.
She was one of just 11 players to go bogey-free, hitting 12 of 14 fairways, 17 of 18 greens, and taking just 26 putts — 10 of which were one-putts. In other words, she made scoring look embarrassingly simple.
She birdied the opener, eagled the par-5 6th, then reeled off three straight birdies from holes 7–9. She cruised again on the back, rolling in birdies at 11, 13, 15, and finished off with a flourish on 18, carding another red number to reach double digits under par.
For Kim, this isn’t an anomaly — this is muscle memory. It’s the sixth time she’s shot 62 or better on the LPGA Tour, and on every previous occasion, she’s finished inside the top 10.
She also now owns a share of the BMW Ladies Championship 18-hole scoring record, joining Ashleigh Buhai’s 62 in 2023.
Hungry? Yes. Comfortable? Absolutely. Dangerous? Without hesitation.
Round 1 Leaderboard – BMW Ladies Championship
- Sei Young Kim –10 (62)
- Hyo Joo Kim –9 (63)
- Lindy Duncan –8 (64)
T4. … (full board continues)
Sei Young Kim – A Look at the Leader
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| 2025 Race to CME Globe Rank | 18 |
| 2025 LPGA Tour Wins | 0 |
| 2025 Top 10s | 7 |
| Official Season Earnings | $1,003,534 |
| Career LPGA Tour Wins | 12 |
| Career Top 10s | 77 |
| Career Earnings | $14.8 million |
This is Kim’s sixth start at the BMW Ladies Championship, and while her best finish to date is T9 from 2019, the version of Sei Young Kim that showed up on day one looks a long way beyond someone satisfied with a top-10 badge.
Her résumé isn’t exactly lacking sparkle either: 2020 Rolex Player of the Year, 2015 Rookie of the Year, three-time LPGA Award winner, Olympian, and five-time winner on the KLPGA Tour. There are players with longer swings and flashier swings — few have her ability to close.
Hyo Joo Kim – The Silent Assassin One Shot Back
If Sei Young Kim strutted, Hyo Joo Kim stalked. Her 63 was efficient, composed, and absolutely relentless. Also bogey-free, Hyo Joo hit every fairway (one of just seven players to do so) and needed only 25 putts — tied for the fewest in the field on Thursday.
Her highlight came at the 7th, where she holed out from 120 metres for eagle. Casual. Post-round, she didn’t talk like someone chasing; she spoke like someone plotting.
“Yes, I’m very eager and looking forward to my second victory on the season,” she said. “I really missed a victory by a slight chance in Hawai’i, so I’ll really try my best to get a second victory. I try not to think about victory when I play… So next event, which is a team play, which is very important. So I really want to enjoy the most out of it.”
With Stacy Lewis’s longtime caddie Travis Wilson on her bag this week, Hyo Joo looks comfortable. Calm. Calculated. If Sei Young Kim is fire, Hyo Joo is ice. And this leaderboard needs both.
Lindy Duncan – Finally Getting Her Due
American Lindy Duncan sits alone in third after an 8-under 64. Bogey-free, stone cold, and perhaps not getting nearly enough attention. She hit 13 of 14 fairways, every green in regulation — one of just four to do so — and found confidence in clusters: three straight birdies on holes 5–7, and again from 17–1 after starting on the 10th.
This isn’t a one-off. She finished top 10 last week in Shanghai, she’s added Lydia Ko’s caddie Paul Cormack this week, and she looks like someone who has finally figured out how to turn promise into pay cheques.
About that carousel of caddies? She doesn’t seem remotely fazed.
“Consistently, yes, like a carousel of caddies,” Duncan laughed. “It’s worked well so far, and I get to work with some really great caddies. I learn more, the more people that I work with… it’s been really helpful for me.”
Some players chase stability; Duncan prefers adaptability. And right now, it’s working.
Around the Grounds
There was no shortage of storylines beyond the leaders:
- Defending champion Hannah Green quietly signed for 68 (-4), including a bold eagle on the Aon Risk Reward Challenge Hole 17.
- Lucy Li delivered the moment of the day — a hole-in-one at the par-3 13th. It earned her a BMW i7 and the wide-eyed disbelief of someone who’d been loudly manifesting it. “I just started freaking out,” Li admitted. “I was like, this is the hole-in-one hole… I’ve been complaining all week to my caddie about having not holed out this year… I think I’m due a hole-in-one. It was nice to get one there.”
- Eun-Hee Ji, playing her final tournament before retirement, opened with a steady 69 (-3).
- Chella Choi, returning from maternity leave, fought to a 70 (-2) in her first start since becoming a mother.
A Championship Already Delivering
Even with Mother Nature trying to slow things down early, Round 1 delivered action. Pine Beach Golf Links is clearly scorable, but far from simple. Greens are quick but fair. The wind is unpredictable. And as Sei Young Kim proved, momentum is everything.
But this isn’t a runaway yet. Plenty of artillery is still behind her: major champions, world top-20 players, home favourites, and fearless rookies. Round 2 will be about staying close — because history says you don’t let Sei Young Kim walk alone at the top for long.
TOURNAMENT RECORDS – BMW LADIES CHAMPIONSHIP
| Record | Score | Player(s) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 holes | 62 | Sei Young Kim, Ashleigh Buhai | 2025, 2023 |
| 36 holes | 128 | Hannah Green | 2024 |
| 54 holes | 198 | Hannah Green, Hee Jeong Lim | 2024, 2021 |
| 72 holes | 266 | Jin Young Ko, Hee Jeong Lim | 2021 |
The BMW Ladies Championship is off to a flyer — South Korea has a homegrown leader, the chase pack is loaded, and history is already being tied, threatened, and rewritten. If Round 1 was a warning shot, Round 2 might be a shootout.
