Gina Kim and Yana Wilson claimed their first LPGA Tour titles Sunday at the Dow Championship, closing with a best-ball 8-under 62 to finish at 17-under par and win by two strokes.
The pairing defeated Hyo Joo Kim and Hye-Jin Choi in the best-ball format, with both Kim and Wilson bringing remarkable recent pedigrees. According to reports from the LPGA, Wilson—just 19 years old—skipped college golf entirely after earning the 2022 USGA Girls’ Junior championship to turn professional. Kim, 26, came through Duke University before grinding her way up the Epson Tour, where both players earned LPGA cards this season.
First-Time Breakthrough
“I asked Yana to be my partner because we played together so many times on the Epson Tour,” Kim said after the round, underscoring the pair’s chemistry built through years of grinding on the developmental circuit. The final-round 62 capped an impressive week for both players, with Wilson delivering a breakout performance in her first LPGA Tour season.
Wilson’s ascent from teenage amateur to LPGA winner marks one of golf’s quickest rises. At just 19, she becomes one of the youngest first-time winners in recent LPGA Tour history, joining a small group of teen sensations who have cracked the professional circuit at an elite level.
