Round 4 - Eun-hee Ji wins Kia Classic

March 25, 2018

South Korea's Eun-hee Ji aced the par-three 14th hole en route to a two-shot victory on Sunday in the LPGA Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California.

Ji finished with five birdies and her eagle one in a five-under par 67 at the par-three 14th at Aviara Golf Club.

Her 16-under par total of 272 put her two strokes in front of Americans Cristie Kerr and Lizette Salas.

Ji began the day in a three-way tie for the lead with compatriot Kim In-kyung and Salas.

Her four birdies on the front nine included three in a row at the sixth, seventh and eighth, and she added another at the 10th.

Her lead had been trimmed to one, however, when her tee-shot at 14 bounced on the green and rolled in, boosting her advantage back to three.

She maintained that edge despite a three-putt bogey at 15 when Kerr bogeyed the 17th.

Ji dropped one more shot with another three-putt at the last, where her first putt raced past the hole.

By then, however, her fourth LPGA Tour title was virtually in the bag.

"I hit it pretty well today," said Ji, who hit all 18 greens in regulation. "I was driving the ball really nice and I rolled in nice putts."

She laughed when she learned she'd won two cars from tournament sponsor Kia -- the one that comes with the trophy and one on offer for the ace at 14.

"Really?" she said. "I didn't know that!"

Even better, she gained a big boost heading into the first major of the year, the ANA Inspiration at Rancho Mirage, California, next week.

"I'm really confident," said the 31-year-old, who won the 2009 US Women's Open.

Her latest win comes five months after she ended an eight-year title drought with a victory at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan in October.

Kerr, who led after 36 holes after a second-round 64 but stumbled with a three-over 75 on Saturday, was pleased to put herself back in contention with a four-under 68 that included six birdies.

"Eun-hee's playing some great golf," Kerr said after reaching the clubhouse on 274. "I did my best. I had a tough day yesterday and it would have taken a super-low round today to catch Eun-hee. I'm happy with my first good tournament of the year."

Salas had three birdies in her three-under 69.

Kim had five birdies and three bogeys in a two-under 70 that left her tied for fourth on 275 along with Americans Jane Park (67) and Kris Tamulis (68).

More scores & prize money.

Round 3 - Kerr blows lead with 75, three-way tie for lead

March 24, 2018

Cristie Kerr blew a five-stroke lead Saturday in the Kia Classic to set up a final-round showdown at Aviara Golf Club.

A day after shooting an 8-under 64 to open the big lead, Kerr had a 75 to drop a stroke behind playing partner Lizette Salas, Eun-Hee Ji and In-Kyung Kim. Kerr was tied with Caroline Hedwall, Wei-Ling Hsu and Cindy LaCrosse, and four players were another shot back in the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week at Mission Hills.

''There is still Sunday,'' Kerr said. ''Somebody else got to sleep with the lead.''

The 40-year-old Kerr had a double bogey on the par-4 15th after snap-hooking a drive into the trees, and hitting a hybrid off a cart path.

''I just didn't have it,'' Kerr said. ''I've got to go work on my game a little bit. Kind of been a little bit of the story this year, a little bit of inconsistency. Just got to be grateful I'm only one back with a whole new Sunday.''

The 2015 winner at Aviara, she followed the double bogey with a two-putt birdie on the short par-4 16th and had a bogey on the par-4 18th.

''Mentally, just wasn't quite as sharp. Swing wasn't quite as sharp,'' Kerr said. ''I mean, every putt I hit like bounced horribly. Like a lot of putts didn't have a chance to go in the hole. I don't know why it was different today on the greens.''

Ji had a 67 to match Salas (69) and Kim (69) at 11-under 205.

''Rough is really hard out there, so I try to keep in my fairway and try to keep it on the green,'' Ji said. ''I really focus on that.''

Salas had a chance to pull away, but missed birdie putts of 1 1/2 feet on 16 and 2 1/2 feet on the par-5 17th.

''I will admit there were a little nerves in there,'' said Salas, the former Southern California player from Azusa. ''It's been a while since I've been in this position. But I was having fun out there just kind of taking what I could get. Mix of luck and momentum going. A lot of could haves, but I'm not going to dwell on that. Just going to be fortunate to be in this position again and just give it my all tomorrow.''

Anna Nordqvist had a 66 to top the group at 9 under.

Top-ranked Shanhan Feng (69) and Lydia Ko (70) were four strokes back at 7 under. Inbee Park, coming off a victory last week in the Founders Cup in Phoenix, was 6 under after a 68. Singapore winner Michelle Wie had a 68 to get to 5 under.

Round 2 - Cristie Kerr fires 64 to take 5-shot lead in California

March 23, 2018

Cristie Kerr fired eight birdies in an eight-under par 64 on Friday to take a five-shot lead after two rounds of the US LPGA Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California.

Kerr, 40, had a 36-hole total of 13-under 131 on an Aviara course softened by rain.

"I like winning, I like challenging myself," said Kerr, whose 20 LPGA victories include two in 2017. "The golf ball doesn't know an age. I've always said that. As long as I stay hungry, (I'm) going to just keep playing.

"I'm trying not to put limits on myself right now," Kerr added. "I've got some good things going on with my swing. I had a great round."

Kerr lifted the trophy in Carlsbad in 2015 with a final-round 65, setting a tournament scoring record of 20-under par.

Her 13-under total broke the previous 36-hole tournament record of 10-under, achieved by five players most recently Jenny Shin in 2016.

American Lizette Salas, Sweden's Caroline Hedwall and South Koreans Park Hee-young and Kim In-kyung shared second on 136.

Salas carded a 67, Kim posted a 69 and Park and Hedwall both signed for 70s.

"I really like this golf course," said Salas, a southern California native. "My family gets to come out. (I had) so much confidence at the beginning of the week and (it) definitely showed the first two days."

Kerr opened with birdies at the par-five 10th and the par-three 11th. She added birdies at 16, 18 and the second, then birdied three in a row at six, seven and eight.

She needed just 26 putts on the large greens at Aviara, which she said suited her strengths.

"I can see the subtleties that a lot of people can't," she said of reading the greens. "It's a gift from God being able to do that. I've always had that so, I'm lucky."

The halfway cut fell at even par. Those who failed to make it included Paul Creamer, Park Sung-hyun and Juli Inkster.

For Park it was her first missed cut in 35 starts on the LPGA Tour.

She birdied 17 to get to one-over -- one stroke outside the cut line. But her approach at 18 came up short of the green. Her chip rolled eight feet past and she missed the putt coming back.

She said she would turn her attention to preparing for the first major of the year, next week's ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, California.

"I'm going to practice a lot because next week is a major and that's really important," she said. "I'm just going to have to practice more."

Round 1 - Park, Hedwall & Stoelting take Kia opening lead

March 22, 2018

South Korea's Park Hee-young, Sweden's Caroline Hedwall and American Jackie Stoelting each fired a six-under par 66 to share the lead after Thursday's opening round of the LPGA Kia Classic.

In the final tuneup before next week's first major championship of the LPGA season at Rancho Mirage, Park and Hedwall opened with bogey-free rounds at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California.

"It was just a solid day," Hedwall said. "I hit it really well and started making a couple putts in my back nine. Just I'm really happy with how I'm playing and looking forward to the rest of the days."

Hedwall began on the back nine and birdied six of her last 10 holes to join the lead pack. She birdied 18, followed with birdies at the second and third holes, birdied the par-5 fifth and eighth holes and closed with a birdie at the ninth.

Hedwall is winless in 125 LPGA events, her eight titles worldwide including five in Europe and three in Australia, including her most recent at the 2013 Women's New South Wales Open.

"I feel like my game is really solid. It's just my putting that I've actually been struggling with the past couple years," Hedwall said.

"It's just all about trust and having self-confidence. I feel like I've gained that now. I had good practice sessions the last couple days, and it's starting to pay off. That's really nice."

Park, whose most recent of two LPGA crowns was the 2013 Manulife LPGA Classic, began on the 10th tee as well but saved her best for last, closing with three consecutive birdies in a late-afternoon run.

"The greens are really soft, so easier to play more with the second shot," Park said. "I tried to leave the uphill putts, so kind of worked well."

Stoelting, seeking her first LPGA title, took a bogey at the par-3 third but responded by making birdies on six of the next nine holes then another to conclude her round.

"I hit a lot of fairways. I don't necessarily hit it far, but keeping it in the fairway is super-key this week," Stoelting said.

"The greens are so big that I really tried to narrow my focus. They were soft, so I was able to fire at pins. Just a really good day."

American Cristie Kerr, South Korean Kim In-kyung, Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn and Dane Nicole Broch Larsen shared fourth on 67, one stroke ahead of New Zealand's Lydia Ko, American Jennifer Song and South Koreans Ryu So-yeon and Lee Jeong-eun.

Scores