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.
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.