EWA BEACH, Hawaii — Hyo Joo Kim executed a masterful chip shot on the No. 18 hole at Hoakalei Country Club to seal her win in the 2022 LPGA Lotte Championship.

It took a steely sand save at the same hole for Kim to merely make the cut at the 2023 edition on Thursday, as one of the favorites coming into the week averted a total meltdown and advanced to the weekend.

What You Need To Know

  • Yu Jin Sung of South Korea, playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption, and rookie Natthakritta Vongtaveelap of Thailand share the 2023 LPGA Lotte Championship lead after 36 holes at 8-under-par 136

  • Hawaii's two local golfers in the field, former Punahou teammates Allisen Corpuz and Mariel Galdiano, missed the cut after shooting 4 over and 3 over on Thursday, respectively

  • Defending champion Hyo Joo Kim required a sand save on the par-5 18th hole to make the cut at 2-over 146 after blowing up on Nos. 16 and 17

  • Corpuz will play the first major on the LPGA calendar, the Chevron Championship, next week in The Woodlands, Texas, for the first time in her career

Kim’s travails summed up a chaotic couple of days to begin the 11th edition of the tournament, and second at Ernie Els-designed, wind-buffeted Hoakalei. Gusts of up to 25 mph played havoc with the scoreboard.

Hawaii’s local participants were unable to remain among those vying for a paycheck this week. Allisen Corpuz, the 33rd-ranked women’s golfer in the Rolex world rankings, missed the cut by a stroke with a two-day total of 3-over (71-76 – 147). Her former Punahou School teammate Mariel Galdiano was out of contention after a double bogey and bogey in her final four holes pushed her round — steady to that point — to 3 over (76-75 – 181).

Corpuz will prepare for next week’s Chevron Championship, the first LPGA major of the year, at The Woodlands, Texas.

“Always definitely disappointing to not make the weekend,” said Corpuz, who finished tied for 18th at Lotte as a rookie last year, her best finish at the time before three top-threes since. “Just didn’t feel like my game was there this week. Just going to get some rest and prep for Chevron.”

Corpuz birdied the par-5 18th, but she realistically needed an eagle there after making bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17, undoing her birdies on Nos. 14 and 15. A short par putt miss on No. 11 hurt, too, capping a run of three straight bogeys.

“I knew (the three straight bogeys) was what set me behind,” Corpuz said. “I tried to make a few birdies coming in, which I did, but obviously 16 and 17 are tough par 4s. I couldn’t quite get pars on those, but fought really hard today.”

Allisen Corpuz, the No. 33 golfer in the Rolex women's world rankings, closed her stay at Hoakalei this week with a birdie putt on No. 18. She'll now ready for the Chevron Championship, the first LPGA major of the season. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Galdiano will return to the Epson Tour looking to become a full-time LPGA qualifier. She said her club selection and approach shots, usually strengths, let her down this week.

“Of course I didn’t play how I wanted to, but I think I handled it pretty well despite not playing that great,” Galdiano said. “So many experiences and memories to look back on. My first time playing pro in Hawaii and having my dad on the bag was really special to me.”

The Lotte lead is shared by two unheralded players. Yu Jin Sung of South Korea, playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption, and LPGA rookie Natthakritta Vongtaveelap of Thailand are matched at 8 under, one shot clear of Georgia Hall of England and Linnea Strom of Sweden.

“The fact that I'm carrying the Korean flag and playing in the LPGA stage, I'm trying to put more focus on that,” Sung said after she shot a second straight 68. “Again, not trying to perform well per se, but just trying to perform well as a player representing my country.”

A Swede who shared in the Round 1 lead, Frida Kinhult, tumbled Thursday with a 76 and is tied for 18th at 2 under overall.

Hyo Joo Kim, the No. 9 women’s golfer and a Lotte regular, was similarly cruising until she ran into trouble on her final few holes. She double bogeyed No. 16 and suffered a quad bogey on No. 17 after hitting into the water then a greenside bunker. In the span of those two disastrous holes, the South Korean went from 4 under to 2 over.

That set up a dramatic scene at No. 18, the site of her triumph over Hinako Shibuno last year. Par — and the cut — looked to be in jeopardy when she hit her third shot into a bunker on the far side of the green. But Kim ably hit out of the sand to within a couple feet and tapped in for par to slip under the cut line with a 6-over 78 on the day.

Defending LPGA Lotte champion Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea hit out of a bunker to within a couple feet on No. 18 to save par and make the cut by a nose. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

2017 Lotte champ Cristie Kerr also evaded the cut at 2 over overall.

The only two-time Lotte winner, Brooke M. Henderson, was a little more comfortable. The Canadian countered three straight bogeys on Nos. 14 to 16 by notching a 15-foot birdie putt on the difficult No. 17, which features water along the right and bunkers along the left while hitting into the wind, and another birdie on 18. She sits tied for 11th at 3 under.

“That was really unfortunate,” Henderson said of the run of bogeys, “but it was really nice to finish with two birdies to kind of get it back on track and good momentum, and hopefully just continue to make a lot of birdies this weekend.

“If the wind is up bogeys are going to happen, so you're just going to have to make a lot of birdies to counter them.”

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.