Hyo Joo Kim came into the final round of the FM Championship with a chance to win for the fourth time worldwide in 2026, but a critical error on the closing hole cost her an opportunity to hoist the trophy.

Kim arrived at the 72nd hole trailing Ruoning Yin by one stroke, and needed a closing birdie to give herself a chance of forcing a playoff. But Kim made an uncharacteristic mistake at the par five, 18th hole at TPC Boston after finding the left rough off the tee. Kim was unable to reach the green in two, but a simple lay up to the fairway could have positioned her for a closing birdie. Instead, Kim’s hand flew off the club on her follow through as her ball tumbled out of the rough and into the small bunker positioned in the center of the fairway in what would be the unluckiest of breaks.

Knowing she’d need a near miracle to have a chance at a win, Kim did her best to hoist the ball up and out of the bunker and managed to land her ball left of the hole as it came to rest on the back portion of the green and safe from the slope that runs off the back of the putting surface. Kim gave a big smile and raised her club with both hands into the air in celebration knowing she still had a glimmer of hope as she left herself a 25-footer for birdie to tie Yin.

Positioned 30 feet from the hole, Yin needed just two putts from that range for victory and she nestled her first putt to within tap-in range. Then, Kim rolled her birdie effort right of the hole and finished out for a closing par and a round of 71 to finish solo second and two-strokes behind Yin.

“It kept going back and forth with the scores on who would win so no one knew,” Kim said about her final round. “At the end of the day it was Ronni.”

Kim made her tournament debut this week at the FM Championship where she got off to a strong start and held a share of the 36-hole lead. She carded a third-round, 70 to put herself in the final grouping on Sunday just one-stroke behind Yin, the 54-hole leader, and Sei Young Kim.

After Saturday’s round, Kim said she planned to take a more aggressive approach in order to make up some ground on the leaderboard on Sunday. She missed six greens during the third round which she said she felt cost her the opportunity to make more birdies. Kim corrected the error on Sunday, in which she missed only one green throughout the day, but then failed to convert the putts as she fought a balky putter throughout the final day in which she needed 34 putts, which allowed Yin to eclipse her midway through Sunday’s round.

“Today the greens were definitely harder and I think day by day it was getting harder,” Kim said about the course conditions. “So I think that's probably why there weren't as many low scores.”

Kim has enjoyed one of the best seasons of the year. In March, Kim was victorious in back-to-back weeks on the LPGA Tour at the Fortinet Founders Cup and Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass. For a period of time early in the year, while Nelly Korda was on her own winning streak, Kim was the only player to have bettered Korda in 2026. In July, Kim racked up another win on the KLPGA for her third worldwide victory of the season and said she plans to return to Korea to compete after the FM Championship, hopeful she’ll be able to carry that momentum with her into the closing stretch of the season.

“In America I've always won once every year while I've played out here. My goal is to win another one before the season ends,” Kim said after her round on Sunday. “But I think right now I'm concentrating on playing my best golf.”

Kim Comes Close on Sunday, Settles for Second at TPC Boston

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