The last time Grace Kim teed it up at Hoakalei Country Club, she left Hawaii as a Rolex First-Time Winner.

It was her third start as an LPGA rookie after graduating from the Epson Tour in 2022, and it took her almost half the time to win on the LPGA Tour than it did on the Epson Tour at the IOA Golf Classic, which was her fifth start.

And if there was anything that her victory proved, it was that Grace Kim deserved to be on the LPGA Tour.

The 23-year-old returned to the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei this year looking to defend her title and pick up her second career LPGA Tour win. An opening-round 72 saw Kim in a share of 57th early on, which was not the start the Australian was looking for if she hoped to find herself in the winner’s circle once again. But the second round was a completely different story, and Kim ultimately signed for a 4-under 68 on Thursday at Hoakalei Country Club.

The round saw Kim make six birdies and two bogeys, vaulting her up 45 spots up the leaderboard to a share of 12th after the morning round concluded. With 36 holes of golf remaining, Kim is sitting pretty to have a chance at defending her LOTTE Championship title come Saturday afternoon.

But the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei isn’t the first time during the 2024 season that Kim has been in contention, and the LPGA Tour sophomore has leaned on her 2023 victory when managing the pressure and expectations of the big moments.

Back in April, she found herself in the final pairing with her fellow Australian Hannah Green at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro. Then, in June, Kim found herself in a three-way playoff with LPGA superstars Lilia Vu and Lexi Thompson at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, ultimately finishing a tie for second with Thompson when Vu emerged victorious. Despite not finding the winner’s circle either time, the LOTTE Championship could be that third-time’s-the-charm moment Kim has been waiting for if she could post two low numbers over the weekend in Hawaii.

“Last year, it was more so that I was probably very comfortable in my skin,” Kim said before the tournament started. “It was just the numbers that the caddie gave me, and I just hit them. It's obviously easier said than done. It just all worked and clicked. I still sometimes think when I'm down that it might have been a fluke, but obviously, it wasn't, so I try to use that as momentum into the rest of my career for sure.”

Epson Tour Graduate Grace Kim Climbs LOTTE Championship Leaderboard in Search of Title Defense

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