Standing over a putt close to 40 feet from the hole, Ayaka Kaneko had a simple goal in mind:
"Two putt and get out of there."
She did herself one better as she put a solid stroke on the ball and watched as it traversed along Ko Olina Golf Club’s 14th green and disappeared for her first birdie of the third round of the Lotte Championship.
Kaneko, a Sacred Hearts graduate and the last player with Hawaii ties left in the LPGA tournament, followed by holing another putt from about 30 feet away on No. 15.
When she birdied No. 18 to close her first nine holes of the round, Kaneko was 3 under for the day and had a red number next to her name for the first time this week at 1 under for the tournament.
A few of her shorter putts kept Kaneko from going even deeper into the red, but she finished Friday’s play with a 1-under 71 and will enter today’s final round at 1-over 217 and part of a seven-player tie for 32nd.
Kaneko has posted a lower score than the previous day in each of the first three rounds and would likely claim the highest finish of her rookie season if she continues the trend today.
"I’m improving, that’s the good thing," Kaneko said. "I try not to think about the mistakes, but I have to learn from it for sure."
She didn’t make many mistakes through nine holes on Friday in dropping to 1 under while climbing from a tie for 49th to start the day up to 28th.
She parred the first four holes, then rolled in the lengthy putts on Nos. 14 and 15 to get to even for the tournament. At the 18th, she played her first shot just short of the water and landed her approach in the middle of the green and made birdie with just her 14th putt of the front nine.
"I hit a really good second shot and hit a perfect putt — it was a perfect hole for me," Kaneko said.
Going to the first tee, Kaneko said she "just wanted to play steady all day, but it was getting windier and I knew I had to be more patient. … But No. 2 really cost me."
After a par on No. 1, Kaneko pulled her tee shot on No. 2 into a bunker on the left side of the fairway, and a three-putt left her a double bogey to push her back to 1 over.
She got one shot back with another long birdie putt on the par-3 fourth hole, but again missed a short par putt on No. 6. She then closed her round with three more pars to card her second under-par round of the season.
"I putted OK. I just missed little short putts twice and those really cost me," she said.
In her rookie season on the LPGA Tour, Kaneko represents both the state she calls home and Japan, where she grew up before moving to Hawaii at age 12. She has her green card, is listed in the LPGA’s official materials as a Japanese player and has done interviews with local and Japanese media after each round this week.
"I’d love to represent the U.S., but at the same time I’m proud to be Japanese," Kaneko said of possibly seeking U.S. citizenship. "I love both. We’ll see."
