It came down to the 18th hole, but Maelynn Kim has the biggest victory of her life at the 2025 Women's Western Amateur.
It came down to the 18th hole, but Maelynn Kim has the biggest victory of her life.
A rising junior at Houston, Kim won the 2025 Women's Western Amateur on Saturday, defeating incoming Vanderbilt freshman Elizabeth Rudisill 1 up at Red Run Golf Club in Royal Oak, Michigan. Kim held off a late charge from Rudisill, who was 3 down with three holes to play, but fought back to get the match to the 18th hole.
Kim's win may be viewed as an upset, considering she finished her sophomore year as the 220th-ranked collegiate golfer, having only one top-10 finish in 11 stroke-play events. But she was clutch at the 125th Women's Western Am, including winning her Round of 32 match on the 22nd hole against Wake Forest's Macy Pate. Then she beat first-team All-American Kary Hollenbaugh in the Round of 16 before topping Elise Lee, who was on the national champion Northwestern team before transferring to USC this summer, in the quarterfinals.
In the championship match, Kim went 1 up on the third hole and never lost the lead. Kim holed out for eagle on the par-5 ninth to take a 2-up lead at the turn. She was three up with three to play, but Rudisill fought back, winning Nos. 16 and 17 to take the match to the 18th hole after Kim made consecutive bogeys.
That's where Kim responded, tying the closing 18th with a par to earn the Women's Western Am title.
The Women's Western Amateur is the fourth event of five in the Women's Elite Amateur Golf Series. The final championship is the 95th LNGA Amateur Championship, set for July 22-24 at The Home Course in Dupont, Washington.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Women's Western Amateur 2025: Houston's Maelynn Kim captures title
Category: General Sports
