LPGA golfer holes out TWICE for walk-off win from the fairway

Sei Young Kim’s hole out for eagle to beat Inbee Park on the first playoff hole on Saturday in Hawaii did not elicit quite the emotional response from the Lotte Championship winner as her first save from off the green in regulation. But it was a tad more difficult and, in the end, more meaningful for the 22-year-old South Korean.

“This is probably the second most memorable shot for me,” Kim said through a translator about her 154-yard swing with an 8-iron. “In 2013, I won a tournament, which had the biggest prize money on [the Korea LPGA]. I won that tournament by making a hole-in-one on 17, so that was probably my most memorable shot. Sorry.’’

That must mean Kim’s chip-in from the fringe on the 72nd hole of the tournament to force overtime ranks third on her highlight reel of all-time incredible shots. After rinsing her ball in a hazard off the tee on the par-4 18th at Ko Olina, Kim hit her approach to the edge of the green, watched Park leave a tap-in for par, and then knocked her shot in from 18 feet.

Kim’s reaction was one of pure joy. She dropped her club, thrust her arms into the air, gazed upward with a huge smile, and high-fived her caddie. “I saw the ball go into the hazard and I thought, `What have I done to deserve this fate?’ Then the gift came right back after that. I still can’t believe what just happened,” Kim said. “It was a straight line, and just try to focus on the hole to get it in there.”

As for the hole-out for eagle, Kim did not immediately acknowledge the result because she could not see the ball disappear into the cup. Park was unable to duplicate the feat and a long, grueling day on which the two leaders finished at 11-under for the week was over.

“I just got to say luck was on her side,” said Park.

For Kim, the early leader in the clubhouse for Rookie of the Year honors, it was her second tour win after a victory in the Bahamas. The $270,000 winner’s paycheck should take some of the sting out of her loss at the ANA Inspiration two weeks ago when she tied for fourth after entering the final round with a three-shot lead.

Though she “had a tough time sleeping” after her collapse at Mission Hills, Kim said the experience ended up being a positive one.

“That was my first major opportunity to win a major tournament on the LPGA Tour. I almost felt a little bit of guilt that I let that slip away,” she said. “At the same time, I saw the possibility and the potential that I thought that I belonged there and that I can win a major championship in the future.

“So a lot of those lessons that I learned the last day at ANA Inspiration I was able to take in into application this week in the tournament,” Kim said, “and I think this helped me tremendously.”