South Korea's Kim Sei-young overcame crippling doubts to win her first LPGA title in five years when she triumphed on home soil by four strokes at the BMW Ladies Championship on Sunday.

Kim led from the first round to the last at Pine Beach Golf Links on the southwestern tip of South Korea, lifting the trophy after finishing ahead of Japan's Nasa Hataoka.

It was the 32-year-old's first title since 2020, the year she won her only major at the Women's PGA Championship and was also crowned LPGA player of the year.

Kim started the final day with a four-shot lead but said she was "questioning myself" throughout the round.

"I was thinking to myself, 'oh my God, what if I lose, this would be very embarassing, maybe all the fans and galleries will tell me off with all the support I'm getting'," she said.

"So I think I was getting very energetic power to really believe in me and push myself."

Kim added that "at the end, it really was a fight against me".

Kim's nerves were jangled when she hit a bogey on the third hole to give the chasing pack hope.

She soon snuffed that out by rattling in six birdies, including three on consecutive holes on the way to a five-under-par final round score of 67.

"I think I probably started with too much excitement starting off the round," she said.

"So I tried to calm that tone and tried to just push myself throughout the play and make the right balance."

- Strength in depth -

It gave Kim the 13th win of her career on the LPGA Tour and the first in her native South Korea.

It also meant there have now been 27 different winners on the tour this season, setting a new record.

"I think it shows how strong the LPGA Tour is at the moment," said Kim.

"It's becoming like the PGA Tour, where we have so many strong, competent players on the planet."

Hataoka made a late charge with four birdies on the final five holes but by that time Kim was out of sight.

Hataoka, who has now finished in the top 10 six times this year but has not won on the LPGA Tour since 2022, said she was happy with "a great week".

"I played a pretty solid week every single day and I really enjoyed it playing with Sei-young in the last group on the final day," said the 26-year-old.

"I'm very happy today."

American Yealimi Noh, who began the final round tied for second with Hataoka, finished in a tie for fifth with defending champion Hannah Green of Australia.

South Korea's Kim A-lim and France's Celine Boutier tied for third, six strokes behind the winner.