Japan's Nasa Hataoka shot a final-round 64 at the 2020 Women's PGA Championship on Sunday to climb into equal-third place, seven strokes behind winner Kim Sei Young of South Korea.
Hataoka started the day at Aronimink Golf Club six shots off the pace but was unable to haul in Kim, who won her first major in dominant fashion with a 14-under 266.
Kim, who captured her 11th win on the LPGA Tour, carded seven birdies for a tournament record-tying 63 and rewrote the overall championship scoring record. Her compatriot Park In Bee finished runner-up, five shots back at 9-under.
Hataoka got off to a spectacular start on Sunday by holing out a 5-iron approach from 188 yards to card an opening-hole eagle two. She followed that up with four birdies over her bogey-free round.
The 21-year-old Japanese said she felt she had taken "one more step" toward winning her first LPGA major.
"I felt like I had no choice but to play aggressive golf and not give up until the end. It was big that I was able to get through the round without a bogey," Hataoka said. "I did everything I could do."
Her strong play helped Hataoka cut the deficit to Kim by three strokes at one point, but the South Korean's lead was never seriously challenged in Newtown Square.
"I kept checking the leaderboard. All I could do was stack up birdies," said Hataoka, who tied with Spain's Carlota Ciganda at 7-under.
At the same tournament two years ago, Hataoka also made a late comeback with a final-round 64 before losing in a three-way playoff.
"It's frustrating that I haven't won a major yet," she said. "But I was able to climb the leaderboard each day. I hope to stay composed and just take it step by step."
This year's Women's PGA Championship will be followed in December by the U.S. Women's Open, the last of the five women's majors on the calendar.
