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Lim Kim birdies final two holes to take lead in Lotte Championship final
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Lim Kim birdies final two holes to take lead in Lotte Championship final

HONOLULU (AP) — A Lim Kim made a hole-in-one on the par-3 ninth and birdied the final two holes to take a 5-under 67, one-stroke lead over Nataliya Guseva on Friday in the Lotte Championship.

“Calculate the number and then pick the line and then hit it,” Kim said of the ace. “I think 99% are lucky.”

Kim rebounded from a bogey at the par-4 16th with birdies at the par-4 17th and par-5 18th. He had a total of 14-under 202 at windy Hoakalei Country Club with one round remaining in the event that began Wednesday .

“Every tournament I think the same thing: Focus on my line and then hit it,” Kim said. “That’s it. Whatever the result, I don’t care.”

Kim is ranked 65th in the CME Globe race and has just two tournaments left to reach the top 60 and earn a spot in the season finale that pays $4 million to the winner. The 29-year-old South Korean player won the US Women’s Open in December 2020 to claim her only LPGA Tour title.

Guseva, the 21-year-old player trying to become the first Russian winner in LPGA Tour history, shot 68. She bogeyed the 17th for the third day in a row.

“I enjoy playing there,” Guseva said. “There is still a lot of wind, but not as much as yesterday. Very excited for tomorrow.”

Ryann O’Toole was third at 11 under after a 69. She was dissatisfied with the pace of play.

“Very slow. I felt like I was slow as a turtle,” O’Toole said.

Jin Young Ko shot 67 to join Auston Kim (69) and Yuri Yoshida (71) at 10 under.

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AP Golf: