Katie Burnett and Joanna Klatten didn’t hoist any Lotte Championship hardware on Saturday, but they were big winners nonetheless.
Klatten fired a final-round 68 en route to a 12-under 276, good enough for sixth and the nice paycheck of $61,584 that goes with it. But more importantly for the Frenchwoman, a top-10 finish guarantees her a spot in this week’s Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in San Francisco.
Had Klatten dropped out of the top 10, she would have been forced to play in a Monday qualifier, but now she gets to kick back and know she’s in the field of 144. Two-time defending champion and world No. 1 Lydia Ko will be in the house in what is another quality event on the women’s tour.
As for Burnett, her final-round 70 (15-under 273) left her one shot shy of eventual winner Minjee Lee (64—272), who started the closing 18 five strokes back. Still, even though she was disappointed with her tie for second with world No. 6 In Gee Chun, Burnett pocketed a nice check as well. The $143,765 was the most she has made on tour.
“I don’t think I gave it away by any means,” Burnett said. “That’s something last year I struggled with in the final rounds, especially when I was playing well. To have played well today was really good for me.”
She and Klatten also made big moves on the Race to CME Globe rankings. Klatten went from 128 to 80 and Burnett jumped from No. 85 to 26. Those who finish in the top 20 during the regular season advance to the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, with Cristie Kerr as the defending champion. Ko is the current leader.
Solid finish for Ko
Statistically speaking, this was the roughest week of the season for Ko.
Of course, Ko’s standards are considerably higher than most.
Ko closed with a 3-under 69 on Saturday to finish at 5 under in her third appearance in the Lotte Championship.
Her total of 283 was her highest in seven starts this season and a tie for 23rd was her lowest placing in a remarkable run to start 2016. She’d finished lower than third just once in her previous tournaments and won the last two prior to her trip to Hawaii.
Ko began the day at 2 under and made a surge after the turn with four straight birdies from Nos. 10 to 13 and added another at 15. She bogeyed 16 and came in with pars on the final two holes to post her first round in the 60s at Ko Olina since shooting a 66 the final round of the 2013 tournament, when she tied for ninth as an amateur.
No comeback for Kim
Sei Young Kim remained steady in the final round, but couldn’t produce a run to retain the tournament title.
She followed three straight rounds of 69 with a 2-under 70 to finish at 11-under 277 for the week.
Kim began the day at 9 under, four shots out of the lead, and played her front nine at even par, with two birdies and two bogeys in her first five holes. She strung together three straight birdies on the back side to get to 11 under.
A year after crafting a dramatic finish last year with a chip-in on No. 18 to force a playoff and a holed-out eagle to win, Kim couldn’t quite summon the magic this time and finished with four straight pars.
Thompson can’t mount charge
Top-ranked American and world No. 3 Lexi Thompson got off to the same kind of start eventual champion Lee mounted, but couldn’t sustain it throughout the round.
The greens bothered Thompson all week, and she closed with a final-round 69 that left her tied for 10th at 10-under 278. Thompson opened with a 75 on Wednesday, thanks in part to missing four putts inside of 3 feet.
This is the first time Thompson has played in the Lotte Championship since 2012. That year, she missed the cut.
Inside the numbers
With the winds down, the numbers went with them. Saturday’s final round was the best 18-hole average of the week at 70.428. The hardest hole was the par-4 18th, with a scoring average of 4.247. There were eight birdies, 45 pars, 15 bogeys, four double bogeys and one triple by Holly Clyburn.
The easiest hole was the par-5 14th, with a scoring average of 4.479. There were 30 birdies, 35 pars and four bogeys.
