Auston Kim mounted a Sunday charge up the leaderboard at Sentosa Golf Club with a round of 67 to match the low round of the day. Despite six birdies and an eagle, the two bogeys that marred her card would prove to be the difference maker that kept the American from catching Australia’s Hannah Green, who secured her second win at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

“It was a really solid week. A great way to start the year,” Kim said after the final round on Sunday when she finished one-stroke back of Green. “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.”

Kim’s bounceback came after a third round of 73 that took her out of the lead, which she held each of the first two days. And while Kim said after her final round on Sunday in which she missed five fairways and four greens that she didn’t have her best game this week in Singapore, she still managed a second-place finish to match her career best finish on the LPGA Tour.

“There's a lot to learn still,” said Kim, who is beginning her third year on Tour. “Every second out on the course is a win, and every second out competing is something that I'm extremely grateful for. There are only things to gain, and I gained a lot this week, and I'm pretty proud of it.”

That positivity and sense of gratitude is something that Kim has been working on with her mental coach, Rick Sessinghaus, who she first connected with during the Chevron Championship in 2025. This week, and each week she competes, it’s a test not just for her physical game but her mental one, as she looks to put into practice the lessons she’s received from Sessinghaus.

“There are a lot of things that I've changed and a lot of things I feel like I'm doing better,” Kim said earlier in the week in Singapore. “Obviously one of the things that we talked about this past week was trying to win each day, win each shot, and I feel like I did a really good job of it.”

Winning each shot is something that not just Sessinghaus, but Angela Stanford has recommended to Kim as well.

Kim reached out to Stanford who is the captain of the U.S. Solheim Cup team for 2026 and asked her for advice on handling the pressure of competing at the highest level along with the expectations of trying to make her first Solheim Cup team. Kim said Stanford’s advice to her was to hit the best shots possible each and every week. The top 40 finishers during tournaments contested during a Solheim Cup year earn points towards qualifying for the squad. Kim’s runner-up finish in Singapore earned her 120 points and lifted her two spots to No. 4 in the team standings. The top seven finishers, at the end of the qualifying period in August at the CPKC Women’s Open, will automatically qualify for the team.

But Kim still believes she has lots to work on ahead of what will likely be her first Solheim Cup appearance. As Sunday wrapped up in Singapore she’d already turned her focus to where she’ll be teeing it up next, at the Blue Bay LPGA where she was tied for 12th last season.

“It's great to have played really well here but when we get to the next tournament, it's a new week. It's a new tournament. I just don't want to get complacent or anything like that,” Kim said about plowing forward. “It's appreciating the good. Taking the credit for everything that I did well this week, and trying to be honest with myself and reflect on what can I do better and what I can improve on so I get closer to that win. Just play better golf next time.”

“There's a lot to work on.”

Auston Kim Ready to Get to Work After Runner-up Finish in Singapore

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