Lexi Thompson nearly takes down mini-tour legend in men’s event
Lexi Thompson will resume competing against the best women golfers in the world when the LPGA restarts next week. In the meantime, she nearly took down a male mini-tour legend during a final tuneup.
On Tuesday, the LPGA star came up one shot short of catching Sunny Kim at a Minor League Golf Tour event. Thompson and Kim were tied before Kim birdied the final hole of the two-day tournament to finish at seven under.
Thompson fired a final-round 66 to finish in solo second. The 11-time LPGA winner was four shots clear of Luke Graboyes and Matt Holuta in third place. Former PGA Tour pro and Korn Ferry Tour winner Jon Curran finished T-5, while six-time European Tour winner Thomas Levet finished T-7. According to Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nicols, Thompson played from a shorter set of tees.
Kim, who was born in South Korea and grew up in Queens, N.Y., has now won an absurd 71 Minor League Golf Tour titles since turning pro in 2007. That includes a nine-shot final-round comeback earlier this year when he shot the tour’s first-ever 59.
Kim joined the Minor League Golf Tour in 2006 before turning professional the following year. With his $1,500 winner’s check on Tuesday, he now has more than $286,000 in career earnings, according to the tour’s site.
Meanwhile, Thompson took home $1,000 for her runner-up finish. She is expected to play in next week’s Marathon LPGA Classic.