MIAMI, 31 Jan 2016, (AFP) - The 20-year-old rising Asian star charged to victory with two runs of three birdies in a row, finishing 72 holes on 18-under 274 to beat American Stacy Lewis, Sweden's Anna Nordqvist and defending champion Kim Sei-Young of South Korea by two strokes.
"My goal coming into today was top 10 but I'm really happy and really pleased to win," Kim said through a translator.
Kim won her first major title at the 2014 Evian Championship, an opening-round 61 helping her edge Australia's Karrie Webb by a stroke in France, and added last year's LPGA Founders Cup trophy.
Kim birdied the par-5 fourth, par-3 fifth and par-4 sixth and eighth holes to leap into the title chase. She followed with birdies at the par-3 12th, and par-4 13th and 14th to seize a three-shot lead.
But Lewis made her third birdie in a row at the 15th to pull within two and Kim missed an eight-foot par putt at 16 for her lone bogey, leaving Lewis only one stroke back.
Kim answered by sinking an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th and then parred the par-5 18th for a two-stroke edge with Lewis in the fairway behind her.
"I knew on the last hole you can get on for two so I was a little nervous coming up 18," Kim said.
Lewis put her second shot into greenside rough and had a chip shot for eagle to force a playoff. But it bounced past the cup to hand Kim the triumph.
"(Kim's) 7-under is a great score," Lewis said. "I knew it was going to take something like that. Got off to a bit of a slow start but proud of the way I came back on the back nine there and gave it a shot."
The runner-up effort was the 12th top-three finish for Lewis since her most recent LPGA victory 19 months ago at the 2014 Northwest Arkansas Championship, her ninth second-place showing in the span, the second-longest win drought of her career.
Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum fired a 65 to match the tournament record and share fifth on 277 with American Paula Creamer and South Korea's Lee Il-Hee.
American Brittany Lincicome also shot a 65 to share eighth on 278 with South Korean Kwak Min-Seo and English teenager Charley Hull.
Leading scores after Sunday's final round of the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic at Paradise Island, Bahamas (USA unless noted, par-73)
274 - Kim Hyo-Joo (KOR) 70-70-68-66
276 - Kim Sei-Young (KOR) 71-68-69-68, Stacy Lewis 73-68-67-68, Anna Nordqvist (SWE) 70-69-68-69
277 - Pornanong Phatlum (THA) 71-72-69-65, Paula Creamer 68-72-71-66, Lee Il-Hee (KOR) 71-72-66-68
278 - Brittany Lincicome 70-71-72-65, Kwak Min-Seo (KOR) 69-70-72-67, Charley Hull (ENG) 68-70-69-71
279 - Jang Ha-Na (KOR) 72-72-68-67, Megan Khang 70-68-71-70
280 - Haru Nomura (JPN) 68-70-74-68, Park Hee-Young (KOR) 72-72-66-70
281 - Mika Miyazato (JPN) 68-74-72-67
282 - Brittany Lang 73-72-71-66, Jane Park 72-72-71-67, Candie Kung (TPE) 71-77-66-68, Lexi Thompson 74-69-71-68, Alison Lee 68-73-70-71
283 - Minjee Lee (AUS) 73-74-70-66, Jessica Korda 72-74-70-67, Brittany Altomare 71-73-72-67, Cristie Kerr 77-65-72-69, Austin Ernst 73-69-72-69, Brooke M. Henderson (CAN) 71-72-70-70, Catriona Matthew (SCO) 68-71-71-73
284 - Jacqui Concolino 75-72-69-68, Jaye Marie Green 71-76-69-68, Angela Stanford 73-73-70-68