I.K. Kim withdraws with wrist injury

South Korea’s I.K. Kim withdrew from this week’s stop on the LPGA Tour before Friday’s third round due to a wrist injury. She was 1 over for the tournament after carding a 74 on Thursday.

She told the Star-Advertiser on Wednesday that she almost didn’t play this week because of a sore elbow. Kim was afraid she could make it worse if she pushed it.

This was her first tournament since the Kraft Nabisco Championship, where she missed an 18-inch putt on the 72nd hole that would have won the first major of her career. She lost in a playoff on the first hole to fellow countrywoman Sun Young Yoo.

Kim said she would learn from the experience and not dwell on it.

First-round leader last among weekenders

Wondering what happened to first-round leader Beth Bader?

The 38-year-old who debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2001 followed Wednesday’s 68 with a 77 on Thursday and an 80 on Friday.

Bader, playing in her first tour event of the year, made eight bogeys Friday. Putting has been the difference for her since Wednesday’s 4-under. Bader circuited Ko Olina on Wednesday, needing the flat stick just 22 times. She putted 31 times in the second round and 35 in the third.

Bader enters today’s final round alone in 74th place among the 74 players who made the cut.

Going gets tough on the 18th hole

It was a common sight to see three consecutive balls miss the green on No. 18, which played as the fourth-most difficult of the day.

American Katie Futcher was part of the first threesome on Friday to finish at 18, where nobody landed their approach shots safely on the green.

Futcher had a chance to post the low round of the day, but her chip out of the far bunker rolled downhill toward the water and off the green.

She left a putt back up the hill well short and had to settle for one of five double bogeys on 18, dropping her from a tie for 11th to a tie for 20th.

Only six birdies were recorded Friday at 18, including one by Ai Miyazato that gave her a three-shot lead heading into today’s final round.

Scores soar again during third round

Wednesday, the average score at Ko Olina was nearly 3 over par (74.986), and only three holes played under par.

That changed in the second round. Leader Ai Miyazato was one of seven golfers with bogey-free rounds. The scoring average dipped 2½ shots.

Just when the golfers began to get used to 20 mph tradewinds, mother nature threw another curveball.

In Friday’s third round, the trades took a little time off. The intermittent gusts created club-selection chaos and pushed the post-cut scoring average back up to 73.270.

Only two players shot in the 60s, and the par-3 16th became Ko Olina’s toughest tee shot. It was the hardest hole on the course Friday — overtaking Nos. 2 and 18 — with 25 bogeys and just two birdies.

In the wind, they all look hard.

"It was really tough out there," said Miyazato. "Still windy, and basically same direction, but it’s still tough to play out there. But I said to myself because I played so good yesterday, just, you know, not trying to be like really greedy.

"Just stay focused, everything on the shots, and try to manage myself."