Auston Kim had a close call at last week’s HBSC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.

The 25-year-old Epson Tour graduate held the 36-hole lead at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course, what was her first time ever doing so since joining the LPGA Tour, but she then lost her advantage after carding a 1-over 73 on Moving Day.

Sitting three strokes off the pace of Aussie co-leaders Hannah Green and Minjee Lee entering the final round, Kim refused to go quietly on day four. She fired a 5-under 67 after putting five birdies and an eagle on her scorecard, one of the lowest rounds of the day on Sunday and a strong last-ditch effort that propelled her to a solo second finish, one stroke behind champion Green.

And while it must have been a bit disappointing to come up just a couple of shots short of her first career victory on the LPGA Tour, Kim didn’t see her runner-up performance in her second event of the 2026 season in that kind of light. Instead, she took it as a learning moment, one that taught her lessons she can apply to future experiences in contention, and gleaned plenty of positive momentum from a solid week in which she largely felt like she didn’t have her best stuff.

“Overall, I think it was a really solid week,” Kim said on Sunday in Singapore. “A great way to start the year. I hit a lot of bad shots, but I also hit a lot of good ones, and it was really confidence-boosting. I hit all these bad shots, and I didn't feel like I had anything close to my A game, but I was still able to pull off a result like this and play some really solid golf.

“Overall, I'm proud of myself, and there's still a lot of work to do. It's exciting.”

Kim has seemingly ridden her hot hand to this week’s Blue Bay LPGA in the People’s Republic of China, opening with a 5-under 67 in the first round at Jian Lake Blue Bay Course on Hainan Island. It was a rollercoaster Thursday for the Epson Tour winner, as Kim carded four bogeys, five pars and nine birdies, two sets of which came back-to-back in her final nine on the par-4 second, par-5 third, par-5 eighth and par-4 ninth holes, en route to her second consecutive round of 67 or better.

“I feel like mentally I'm on top of things very often, more often. Put in a lot of hard work over the offseason and really cool to see it pay off,” said Kim, who hit 10 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens during round one in China. “Overall, my game is feeling okay. I feel like last week I didn't really have my A-game, and today I didn't really have my A-game, but my short game and putting are really saving me. I hit my irons better today, too, so more chances.

“I think I made nine birdies today and four bogeys, so I think I just need to get a little tighter off the tee.”

This is Kim’s third season as an LPGA Tour member. She first secured status via the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card back in 2023, winning the Epson Tour Championship when it was still held in Daytona Beach, Fla., to lock up her LPGA Tour card. Across the last three seasons, Kim has tallied nine top-10 finishes, five of which, including last week’s solo second in Singapore, have been top-five results.

This is her third start in the Blue Bay LPGA, and Kim has put a T37 and a T12 on her resume the past two years at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Course, two performances she will be working to improve upon over the next 54 holes in China.

And considering how well she has been playing lately despite not feeling like her game is at 100 percent, and considering how well she kept her composure during a wacky first round, Kim is certain to be a threat as this tournament progresses over the three days of play still remaining.

“I'm more worried about or more concerned with what I want in every situation and how I can achieve it,” Kim said about her current mentality. “I think it goes back to what I said last week about competing with every shot. It takes a lot of focus, but I feel like harnessing my focus in a more positive way is good, it's more constructive, and overall, it's been working better.”

Auston Kim Keeps Momentum Rolling Early on Thursday at Blue Bay LPGA

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