LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP

Kim Hangs On For Gritty Victory

South Korea's Kim Hyo-joo held off Hinako Shibuno to win the LPGA Lotte Championship by two strokes.

Kim, 26, started the final round on a 10-under-par total of 206 going into the final round. She was three strokes clear of American Brianna Do and Japan's Hinako Shibuno. Do matched the low round of the day with a five-under-par 67 while Shibuno signed for a 68.

It was a further stroke back to Northern Ireland's Stephanie Meadow and South Korean Lee So-mi, who both carded 69s for 210.

Kim, the world number 13 whose four LPGA titles include a major triumph at the 2014 Evian Championship, opened the day at Hoakalei Country Club in Hawaii with a three-shot lead that dwindled with her bogeys at the seventh and 12th.

Shibuno, with birdies at the fourth and 11th, came within one stroke after Kim bogeyed the 17th.