Tag: Hoakalei Country Club

Major champion A Lim Kim edges Russian rookie to claim second LPGA title at Lotte Championship

The 29-year-old Kim posted three top-10 finishes this season in 25 starts before breaking through on Oahu.

South Korea’s A Lim Kim, a major champion, clinched her first LPGA title as a tour member at the Lotte Championship. The 2020 U.S. Women’s Open winner narrowly edged Russia’s Nataliya Guseva by two strokes in her 100th start since claiming a major title. The victory vaults Kim into field for the CME Group Tour Championship.

“Everything is getting better,” said a smiling Kim, who felt comfortable in Hawaii. The player who goes by the nickname “Queen” was a good sport with the traditional hula dance, too.

The 29-year-old Kim posted three top-10 finishes this season in 25 starts before breaking through on Oahu. She closed with a 4-under 68 for an 18-under total and managed to hang on despite Guseva’s tenacious play. The first Russian to earn an LPGA card shot 34 on the back nine to card a closing 69.

“I really did my best out there,” said Guseva, “I never gave up.”

After playing five weeks in a row, Guseva will take of next week before heading to Naples, Florida, for the final event of the season.

Nataliya Guseva plays her shot from the third tee during the final round of the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei 2024 at Hoakalei Country Club on November 09, 2024 in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Rookie Auston Kim finished a career-best third place to greatly improve her chances of qualifying for the CME Group Tour Championship. The top 60 players in the CME points race qualify for the season-ending event, which features a winner’s check of $4 million. Kim moved up to 64th.

“It’s been a long year, a lot of good lessons and tough moments,” said Kim, “but really proud of myself for bouncing back after the tough weeks and being able to play some really solid golf.”

For Angela Stanford, it was a walk to remember as the 46-year-old played her last round in her final season on the LPGA. The seven-time LPGA winner, who has played full time on tour for 24 years, finished with her head held high.

“I said going into today I wanted to be me,” said Stanford, who finished tied for 26th. “I wanted to play my game. I hit every green on the back nine. Throughout my career my iron play was what I relied on, so that kind of made me get teary-eyed, because it’s awesome to play the last nine holes and hit every green. Just kind of felt like me, so it was good.”

LPGA: Yu Jin Sung holds lead while Georgia Hall, Celine Boutier, Brooke Henderson lurk at 2023 Lotte Championship

Here’s how it stands after three rounds in Hawaii.

Yu Jin Sung was one of the 36-hole leaders at the LPGA’s Lotte Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii, and thanks to a third-round 1-under 71, she will enter the final round with a one-shot lead.

Sung is in the field on a sponsor invitation.

On her heels is a group of players at 8 under, one of them being Georgia Hall who ranks second in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.

After a Friday 66, Hall signed for a third-round 1-under 71. Grace Kim and Linnea Strom are with Hall at 8 under.

Nasa Hataoka and Christian Kim are among four golfers sitting two back at 7 under while Celine Boutier and Brooke Henderson are tied for ninth with two others at 6 under, three back.

Henderson and Boutier are each seeking to become the first two-time winner on the LPGA this season.

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Yu Jin Sung, Natthakritta Vongtaveelap lead the LPGA’s Lotte Championship in Hawaii after two rounds

Here’s how things stand after two days on Oahu.

After two rounds of the LPGA’s Lotte Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii, Yu Jin Sung and Natthakritta Vongtaveelap are tied for the lead at 8 under.

Sung has opened her week with back-to-back 68s while Vongtaveelap followed up her Thursday 66 with a Friday 70.

Georgia Hall, who is ranked second in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, is tied for third alongside Linnea Storm. Hall couldn’t get much going on Thursday, opening the Lotte Championship with a 1-under 71. She played nicely on Day 2, however, signing for a 6-under 66.

Christina Kim, Grace Kim and Nasa Hataoka are tied for fifth at 6 under while Lauren Hartlage is 5 under and in solo eighth. Siyun Liu and Pernilla Lindberg round out the top 10 at 4 under, T-9.

Frida Kinhult, who held the 18-hole lead, shot a second-round 4-over 76 and is tied for 18th.

The tournament concludes Saturday. The first LPGA major of 2023 starts next Thursday outside Houston at the Chevon Championship.

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Sweden’s Frida Kinhult grew up playing on a windy island, and she leads after the first round of the LPGA’s Lotte Championship in Hawaii

It was a windy start in Hawaii.

Frida Kinhult grew up on an island in Sweden. This week, she’s playing on the Hawaiian islands. Although the two have stark differences, there is one commonality: wind.

The wind was blowing Wednesday during the first round of the LPGA’s Lotte Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach. And it provided difficult conditions for everyone in the field, but Kinhult excelled.

The 23-year-old shot 6-under 66 to share the first-round lead with Natthakritta Vongtaveelap. Kinhult’s round included seven birdies and one bogey, which came on her last hole of the day, the par-3 ninth.

“It was very solid. Nothing crazy really happened,” Kinhult said. “Throughout the day tried to hit some fairways, and then I think I hit most greens, which is helpful in this wind. Just tried to stay patient out there shot by shot for real in this wind. A lot of the math in my head, so probably going to fall asleep pretty good tonight.

“Super happy with the start and pumped for the rest of the week.”

It’s the first time Kinhult has held a share of the 18-hole lead in her LPGA career.

Vongtaveelap had a bogey-free performance, which included an eagle on the par-5 fifth. She credited a strong driver with her great start.

Four players are tied for third at 4 under: Yu Jin Sung, Bailey Tardy, Nasa Hataoka and Hyo Joo Kim.

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Hyo Joo Kim captures Lotte Championship for fifth LPGA win

Since 2012, the champion of the Lotte Championship has gone on to win multiple titles in the same year.

Hyo Joo Kim won for the fifth time on the LPGA Saturday in Hawaii, capturing the Lotte Championship by two shots over Hinako Shibuno.

Kim’s final-round 71 got her to 11 under for the week at at Hoakalei Country Club, which was hosting the event for the first time. She punctuated her win by chipping it close on the 18th hole and then making a short birdie putt.

“I’m proud of that shot,” said Kim. “Maybe I made a lot of people like sit on the edge of their chairs, so I felt great about it.”

Since 2012, the champion of the Lotte has gone on to win multiple LPGA titles in the same year.

Hye-Jin Choi was solo third at 7 under. Ashleigh Buhai was solo fourth at 6 under. Somi Lee was solo fifth at 5 under. Brianna Do, who Monday qualified, played in the final group after a third-round 67 but closed her week with a 5-over 77 to finish tied for 12th. Defending champion Lydia Ko tied for 18th at 1 under.

Six players withdrew from the event, including Brooke Henderson and Danielle Kang, who both did so after their first rounds.

Another ace

CME Group is donating $20,000 for every hole-in-one on the LPGA in 2022 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There have been 10 aces so far this year with Giulia Molinaro making the latest on the par-3 15th hole in the final round of the Lotte Championship. Molinaro has a 50-degree wedge from 123 yards.

Up next

The LPGA heads to Los Angeles for back-to-back events: the DIO Implant LA Open at Wilshire Country Club and the Palos Verdes Championship at Palos Verdes Golf Club.

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Hyo Joo Kim leads by three at LPGA’s Lotte Championship; Monday qualifier Brianna Do three back

Ten-year pro Brianna Do, who Monday-qualified for the Lotte Championship, is tied for second.

A four-stroke lead after six holes dwindled to one but Hyo Joo Kim closed strong, rebuilding her lead back to three shots after 54 holes at the Lotte Championship.

A windy day at Hoakalei Country Club in Hawaii made things interesting for the field.

“There was a lot of wind going back and forth. I think it was difficult because it was not specifically directional,” said Kim, who started her week with a pair of 67s. “The pin position was also difficult compared to the first and second rounds. I had a hard time in that regard.”

Two golfers, Hinako Shibuno and Monday Qualifier Brianna Do, are tied for second at 7 under. The qualifier was actually Sunday due the tournament’s Wednesday-to-Saturday format. Do, who graduated from UCLA in 2012 and first earned LPGA membership in 2013, shot up the third-round leaderboard after firing a 5-under 67. She had six birdies and just one bogey in her round.

“I’ve been working to retool my swing a little bit to make it more reliable under pressure and kind of simplifying it and making more efficient. It’s kind of working,” said Do. “I had a few good weeks on the Epson Tour, and the goal was to Monday this week. I made the Monday. Then the goal was to make a check to get in the reshuffle, and I did that. And so now it’s trying to play my way into L.A. next week, just reevaluating goals as I go along.”

Do has never finished higher than 15th in an LPGA event.

Shibuno, who won the 2019 AIG Women’s Open, carded a bogey-free 68 on Friday.

Two-time tournament winner Brooke Henderson withdrew after her second round.

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As Lydia Ko can attest, Lotte Championship can be springboard to future LPGA success

Since 2012, the champion of the Lotte has gone on to win multiple LPGA titles in the same year.

If history is any indication, the winner of this week’s Lotte Championship will enjoy even more success in 2022.

Since 2012, the champion of the Lotte has gone on to win multiple titles in the same year. For last year’s champion Lydia Ko, that second title came in Saudi Arabia last fall on the Ladies European Tour.

Ko’s seven-stroke victory last year on Oahu broke a near three-year victory drought on the LPGA for the former No. 1.

“I think it was more proving to myself that I can be back in the winner’s circle,” said Ko ahead of this week’s title defense. “I actually finished my season out pretty well. Started my season well in 2020 and 2021. To kind of win here was a confidence booster.”

This year’s Lotte will be held for the first time at Hoakalei Country Club, located 20 miles outside of Honolulu. The tournament starts Wednesday and will conclude on Saturday.

Jennifer Kupcho, the 2022 Chevron champion, joins Ko as a headliner of the event along with fellow 2022 winners Danielle Kang, Leona Maguire and Atthaya Thitikul.

With the course’s close proximity to the ocean, Ko is bracing for a windswept week. Hoakalei’s tighter fairways and sticky rough demand precision.

“There are some tougher holes where the wind is the opposite way to how the green sits,” said Ko, “so that makes the greens a little bit smaller. “I think having like strategic target style in that kind of holes, and then the holes that are going to be a little bit easier or shorter, to really take advantage of those.

Masters inspiration

Brooke Henderson, a two-time winner at the Lotte, said she took inspiration from Masters champion Scottie Scheffler’s post-tournament news conference when he talked about how Sunday morning was so rough that he “cried like a baby.”

An overwhelmed Scheffler told his wife that he didn’t think he was ready for the moment.

“She told me, ‘Who are you to say that you are not ready? Who am I to say that I know what’s best for my life?’ ” said Scheffler.

“And so, what we talked about is that God is in control and that the Lord is leading me; and if today is my time, it’s my time. And if I shot 82 today, you know, somehow I was going to use it for His glory. Gosh, it was a long morning. It was long.”

Henderson, a major champion who also possesses a strong faith, appreciated Scheffler’s vulnerable answer.

“I just really loved a lot of the things he had to say and how he approached the Sunday after feeling not his best in the morning time,” said Henderson. “I really learned a lot actually, so that was pretty cool.”

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