Meadow “proud” of back nine comeback in Hawaii
EWA BEACH, HAWAII - APRIL 16: Hyo Joo Kim of The Republic of Korea tees off the eighth tee during the final round of The LOTTE Championship at Hoakalei Country Club on April 16, 2022 in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Stephanie Meadow vowed to learn from her mistakes after closing with a five-over 77 to finish tied 18th in the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii.
The Jordanstown star (30) went into the final round tied for fourth, four shots behind leader Hyo Joo Kim, in her bid for a maiden LPGA win.
But she made a disappointing start to her final round at Hoakalei Country Club, running up three bogeys and two double bogeys against just one birdie to turn in six-over 42.
"Not the Sunday I was looking for, but proud of how I played on the back today," Meadow said after making eight pars and a birdie two at the 15th on the back nine to finish 10 shots behind the winner on one-under ($21,874).
"Learning from my mistakes and ready to head to LA. See you next year Hawaii."
Leona Maguire tied for 48th on three-over ($6,749) as she made seven birdies and four bogeys in the final round 69.
Kim closed with a one-under 71 to capture her fifth career LPGA Tour title by two strokes from Japan's Hinako Shibuno on 11-under-par.
She's now seventh in the Race to CME Globe standings with Maguire down one spot to ninth and Meadow up seven to 45th.
Kim, who started the day with a three-stroke advantage, bogeyed the par-three 17th to see her lead cut to just one stroke before she pitched to two feet at the 18th to set up a closing birdie.
"I'm proud of that shot," said Kim. "Maybe I made a lot of people like sit on the edge of their chairs, so I felt great about it."
Meadow and Maguire move on to the DIO Implant LA Open at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where world number one Jin Young Ko is the leading player in the field and Canada's Brooke Henderson the defending champion.
