Kim holds on to claim victory

Mi Hyun Kim didn't let another one slip away.

Six weeks after blowing a five-stroke lead in the final round of the LPGA stop in Rochester, Kim sidestepped a late collapse Sunday to hold off fellow South Korean Hee-Won Han and win the Wendy's Championship for Children by one stroke.

``Golf is a difficult game,'' Kim said. ``Nobody knows who will get the win, you know?''

Kim double-bogeyed the 17th hole and then salvaged par from the grandstand behind the 18th green to finish her final-round 73 for an 8-under total of 208.

The victory, worth $150,000, was Kim's second in the last three weeks in Ohio. She outplayed Kelly Robbins down the stretch to win the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic two weeks ago.

``When I play here, I just feel a little bit of confidence,'' she said. ``Every time I play in Ohio, I play good. I like this area -- the greens are quick and fast.''

Kim held a five-shot lead heading into the final round at Rochester -- and wasted it. She shot a final-round 74 and lost to Karrie Webb by one stroke.

Asked if she had learned from that experience, Kim smiled.

``No,'' she said. ``I still worry.''

Han's closing 70 left her at 7-under for the tournament, with the third member of their playing group, Danielle Ammaccapane, alone in third place at 6-under after a 72. Lorie Kane and Michele Redman tied for fourth, another shot back.

Only three of the top 10 players on the LPGA money list were in the field, with most of the top players electing to take the week off to prepare for this week's final major championship, the British Women's Open.

Kim, who started Sunday with a three-shot lead, still had that advantage as she stepped to the tee on the 148-yard, par-3 17th. Her 5-iron shot came up short and right of the green, bouncing off the bank of the island green and into the water.

``I was trying for the center of the green. When I set up, I changed my mind,'' Kim said. ``I think it was the right club. I didn't think the ball would be short.''

LPGA rules official Doug Brecht watched at least three video replays of the shot behind the green before sending Kim back to the tee for her third shot. Had the ball crossed the line of the hazard, which Smith did not believe the replays indicated, then Kim could have hit her third shot from the drop area.

Tour officials also looked at replays on Sunday to review Redman's shot on the same hole in the second round. They determined that she had correctly hit from the drop area because her first tee shot did cross the line of the hazard.

Kim's second shot off the 17th tee was nearing the green when she shouted ``Go!'' The ball landed on line with the pin and ended up 12 feet away.

As she walked across the bridge to the island green, she received loud applause and cheers from the small gallery.

She missed the putt, however, for a double-bogey that dropped her lead to one stroke.

``After Mi Hyun put the ball in the water, I got excited a little bit,'' Han said. ``I was anxious to make another birdie at the next hole.''

But on the 18th hole, Han drove into the left rough, and Kim hit a long drive down the middle of the fairway.

Han's second shot ended up on the lower tier of the green, about 45 feet from the hole. Ammaccapane, two shots back of Kim and one behind Han, was 50 feet away and on the lower tier.

Kim's 7-iron second shot went right, missing the green and rolling within a foot of the large temporary grandstand behind the green.

After receiving a free drop to get relief from the grandstand, Kim hit a delicate 45-foot pitch shot that cleared a collection area and came to a stop 3 feet from the hole.

Han missed the long birdie putt as did Ammaccapane, while Kim drained the par putt that preserved the fifth title of her four-year career.

Kim pumped her fist, then threw her golf ball to fans in the grandstand.

``After Mi Hyun put the chip shot close to the pin, I knew that she would win,'' said Han, who finished second for the second consecutive week on Tour.

Kim improved to 2-2 when leading going into the final round.

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