Lizette Salas didn’t take home a trophy, but she arguably owned the most compelling moments when the LPGA last visited Ko Olina Golf Club.

Salas carved up Ko Olina in the final round of last year’s LPGA Lotte Championship, firing a course-record 62 to force a playoff with her first career victory at stake.

But fortune can turn on one swing and the electricity she generated over her astounding 29 on the back nine dissipated when her second shot of the playoff with Suzann Pettersen plunged into the water fronting the 18th green.

She returns this week with confidence fueled by her performance over those first 18 holes and strengthened by her experience on the last.

"That’s golf," Salas said in recalling last year’s final sequence. "I could have been really down. I did cry about it, but I could have had a pity party for a long time. But I reversed it.

"It was definitely a motivating thing and I think that was a reason I had such a great year. I tried to prove to not only other people but to myself that I can put myself back in those situations.

"I believe a lot of good things came out of that shot going in the water."

Salas has a 12:40 p.m. tee time for the first round of the Lotte Championship on Wednesday as she continues her pursuit of that first win of her career. She returns with greater comfort in her game than a year ago when she closed her stay on Oahu’s west shore by erasing Pettersen’s six-stroke lead to end regulation at 19 under par.

"Just during the practice rounds I was remembering all the flashbacks of where my shots ended up, especially that (Saturday) and just have to put that in the back of my mind and know I can pull those shots off," Salas said.

Salas said her "mental game has gotten a lot stronger. I believe in myself a lot more," over the last year and she’s demonstrated resilience in her game as well.

Her showing in Hawaii was one of seven top-10 finishes in 2013 and she earned a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team for the first time.

She ended the year 20th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and began 2014 with a third-place finish at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.

She then endured one of the roughest stretches of her career in February, finishing 60th in Thailand and 55th at the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore.

When she returned to the U.S., a talk with her father helped refresh her outlook and she shot four rounds in the 60s to tie for 12th in the JTBC Founders Cup in Arizona. She was alone in second at the Kia Championship in Carlsbad, Calif., a week later, one stroke behind Anna Nordqvist.

"I went back to the old drills I did as a kid and drills I did last year when I was playing well," said Salas, who enters this week’s tournament 14th in the world. "So going into Phoenix I had a fresh start and I’m really happy with the results.

"My dad and my coach just said stop thinking so much and stop trying to be perfect. Because as much as you want to be perfect, this game can bite you in the butt in so many different ways. I’m just trying to be as happy and optimistic and confident as possible."

Salas and Pettersen met again in last year’s Solheim Cup, with the match ending all-square. But there won’t be a rematch this week as a bad back will prevent Pettersen, the world’s second-ranked player, from defending her title.

The 144-player field includes six of the top 10 and 14 of the top 20 players in the Rolex Rankings, led by Inbee Park, who has held the top spot for 53 weeks.

Michelle Wie, the lone Hawaii player in the field, moved up to No. 23 with her hot start to the season. She tees off at No. 10 at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday.