Missed opportunities for Kim

I.K. Kim thought the missed putt at 17 cost her any chance to win as she battled Inbee Park and eventual winner Sei Young Kim on a tense back nine on this windy Saturday afternoon.

All three golfers remained tied at 11 under for most of the closing holes before back-to-back bogeys by I.K. Kim removed her from the playoff equation. She finished alone in third at 9-under 279. Sei Young Kim eventually won on the first playoff hole with an eagle after she found the bottom of the cup from 156 yards away with an 8-iron.

"I think we all did our best, you know," I.K. Kim said. "Sei Young hit a lot of good shots, just didn’t make putts until, I don’t know. She had a good save on 16 and 17. I think that’s why she (made) the playoff. Inbee miss few birdie chances on the par 5s. Think that’s why (made) the playoff. We all had chances. Just so hard to, you know, tell who did better or worse. But I think end of the day, it’s just really close."

Solid finish for Gal

Sandra Gal tied her low round in the Lotte Championship with a 3-under 69 on Saturday, but her 12th tour of Ko Olina topped her personal ranking.

"I’ve had low rounds here before, but obviously considering it was very windy this was one of the better ones or the best one I’ve probably had out here," Gal said.

A close to 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth hole highlighted her round and she drained one from about the same distance for birdie on the next hole on her way to posting both her highest finish of the season and in the tournament. She tied for 34th in the 2012 Lotte Championship and 33rd in 2013.

"You gain experience for sure with the wind, but I think you just have to have your game in shape coming in here — you can’t search for your game coming here," Gal said. "You have to hit a lot of solid shots, you gotta move the ball a little bit, you’ve got to hit it low. A lot of feel shots that I used this week. That was a good imagination week for me."

Choi spends day in contention

Chella Choi ran out of luck on the 15th green.

Choi, of South Korea, was one of the few golfers to keep a clean card on the windy day, going through the first 14 holes at 2 under par. She managed to climb within two shots of the leaders in the group behind her. She reached the green on No. 15 in two, had a nice lag for a short putt that missed. She then missed an equally short putt coming back to double the hole and her deficit behind the leaders.

"I played good today, it was a really hard day," Choi said. "It was really hard to address the ball with the wind, so I think I played good."

Choi, who missed the cut in her previous tournament, got within shouting distance of the leaders with a birdie out of the sand on the third hole and a birdie putt on No. 5 that settled on the lip but blew in when she approached it to tap it in.

"I forgot I made that shot," Choi said of the sand shot. "It was a long time ago and too much wind made me forget. It was really tight in the bunker, so I was focused on just carrying it onto the green and it made it for a birdie. It was luck, I think I pulled the putt (on No. 5) a little bit, but it blew in. That was lucky, too."

Lincicome still feels good

Brittany Lincicome was coming off a victory at the year’s first major, the ANA Inspiration, two weeks ago and said she was "still on Cloud Nine," the day before the Lotte Championship started. She came back down to earth with even par for the tournament after shooting 3-over 75 on Saturday. She tied for 18th.

But Lincicome said she wasn’t too disappointed, especially since she shot a 5-under 67 in the second round.

"I’m still hitting the ball well, so I think I still have some momentum. We’ll see. Next week will be a good test to see where my game is," Lincicome said. "This is the windiest place we play at. Next week won’t be windy (at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in San Francisco), but it will be chilly."

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