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Kim Wins Playoff in Hawaii

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From the Associated Press

Joo Mi Kim holed a two-foot birdie putt on the second sudden-death playoff hole Saturday to defeat fellow South Korean Soo Young Moon in the LPGA Tour’s season-opening SBS Open at Kahuku, Hawaii.

Kim shot a final-round 71 and finished with a 10-under 206 total. After sinking the short putt for her first LPGA victory, she was soaked with champagne by fellow players on the 18th green and was then forced to jump into the lake nearby.

Moon (69) missed a 10-footer that would have sent the tournament to a third playoff hole.

Kim, 21, joined the tour last year after a successful stint on the Korea LPGA Tour. She finished fourth last year in the Safeway Classic and fifth in the Sybase Classic.

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Lorena Ochoa (67) was eliminated on the first playoff hole after missing a six-foot birdie putt.

Moon holed a 12-foot birdie putt, putting the heat on Kim and Ochoa. Kim made a clutch putt from about 10 feet to halve the hole.

Kim had a chance to secure the win on the last hole of regulation but missed a 25-foot birdie putt.

Ochoa, who opened with a 74 and tied a tournament record with a 65 in the second round, surged to the top of the leaderboard with seven birdies and caught Kim for the lead with a birdie on No. 16.

She just missed an eight-footer for birdie on No. 18 and waited for Kim to finish.

Karen Stupples shot a 67 to finish fourth at eight-under 208 in muggy and calm conditions at the Turtle Bay Resort’s Palmer Course.

Morgan Pressel (70) made an impressive pro debut, tying for fifth at seven under with Miriam Nagl (68) and Natalie Gulbis (70). Pressel, the U.S. Amateur champion, is the youngest player on tour at 17.

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Loren Roberts shot a six-under 66 at Naples, Fla., to grab a share of the lead after two rounds of the ACE Group Classic as he tries to win three consecutive tournaments on the Champions Tour.

Roberts, Don Pooley and Brad Bryant are tied at 11-under 133, one shot ahead of Rick Karbowski.

Roberts has won three of the eight Champions Tour events he has entered, including the first two of the year, since turning 50 last summer.

No one has won the first three tournaments to open a Champions Tour season.

“Obviously that’s an achievement that, for me, would be outstanding,” Roberts said. “I’m not going to dwell on it until the last couple of holes. We’ll see what happens.”

Said Bryant: “He’s going to be really tough to beat.”

Karbowski, a tour rookie, sank a 38-foot birdie putt on No. 18 and is in fourth at 10 under. Hale Irwin, a two-time winner of this event, Danny Edwards and first-round leader R.W. Eaks are tied for fifth at eight under. Eaks said he was not feeling well, and possibly had food poisoning.

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