LOTTE Championship 2022 R3

April 13-16
Hoakalei Country Club, Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
$2,000,000
Round 1, Round 2, Round 4

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Hyo Joo Kim faltered slightly on Friday, making her first bogey of the tournament at the 7th then another at the 12th.

“There was a lot of wind going back and forth. I think it was difficult because it was not specifically directional. The pin position was also difficult compared to the first and second rounds. I had a hard time in that regard.”

LOTTE Championship 2022 R3

The South Korean player recovered with a birdie at the 14th and capped her round with a near hole-out from the greenside bunker at the 18th, tapping in the short birdie to finish with an even-par 72 and maintain her three-stroke lead in the LOTTE Championship at 10-under.

“It was very important because it was a matter of over par or not,” said Kim. “I had a chance at the 16th hole but I missed. So I was a little angry. Now I feel much better since I made a birdie on the last hole.”

LOTTE Championship 2022 R3

American Brianna Do, who qualified on Sunday, surged up the leaderboard. Her 5-under 67 featured six birdies and just one bogey. Do has held LPGA Tour Membership since 2013, but has yet to record any finish better than 15th. She is playing in her first LPGA Tour event since the 2021 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and a win this week would secure her membership for another two years.

“I've been working to retool my swing a little bit to make it more reliable under pressure and kind of simplifying it and making more efficient. It's kind of working,” said Do. “I had a few good weeks on the Epson Tour, and the goal was to Monday this week. I made the Monday. Then the goal was to make a check to get in the reshuffle, and I did that. And so now it's trying to play my way into L.A. next week, just reevaluating goals as I go along."

LOTTE Championship 2022 R3

Do sits at 7-under in a tie for second with 2019 AIG Women’s Open champion Hinako Shibuno who shot a bogey-free 68, carding all four of her birdies on the back nine.

“Putting was more stronger, and so, yeah, that makes me birdie,” said Shibuno.

Northern Ireland's Stephanie Meadow and South Korea’s Somi Lee, playing on a sponsor exemption, are tied for fourth at 6-under, followed by Ariya Jutanugarn and Megan Khang tied for sixth a shot further back.

Hawaii’s Allisen Corpuz, the only Island native in the field, heads to the final round in a tie for 15th at 2-under.

LOTTE Championship 2022 R3