The second-round leaderboard at the LPGA Lotte Championship was pretty much set after lunchtime at Ko Olina Golf Club.
Tough, windy conditions plagued the afternoon groups that struggled to keep up with co-leaders Sei Young Kim and I.K. Kim, who were in nice and early with 10-under par scores to lead by three.
American Paula Creamer was one of only two names to hang near the top of the leaderboard as the sun began to set, shooting a second consecutive 3-under 69 to sit in a group of four at 6 under.
Creamer, a two-time winner in Hawaii, had to settle for a 69 after bogeying her final hole. She three-putted on 18 and chucked her golf ball into the water that protects the front of the green, finishing what otherwise was a solid round of golf.
"Hit it on the wrong tier," Creamer said of her first putt on the final hole.
"Unfortunate bogey for me on the last hole. I thought I made my par putt, but just not hard enough. There are birdies out there. You just have to plug along and be patient in these windy conditions."
The 10-time LPGA Tour winner shot in the 60s twice after failing to break 70 in any of her four rounds here last year.
Creamer totaled five birdies, including two on four of the par-3 holes, and two bogeys, but couldn’t make any headway on the par-5s, shooting par on all four holes.
She made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 and got it to 7 under after 16, hitting a hybrid off the tee on the par-3 that settled nicely 10 feet from the hole.
"I gave myself a lot of opportunities," Creamer said. "The greens in the afternoon get a little bumpy here or there, so you’ve got to watch your pace. It’s hard to be super aggressive with your putts, especially with the wind."
Since taking home her only major championship at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2010 by four shots, Creamer has won once since and is 26th in the Rolex World Golf Rankings.
She’s made the cut in all seven events in 2015, but has only one finish in the top 28, a tie for 10th at the Kia Classic last month.
"I’ve been working really hard these past couple of months," Creamer said. "After the Asia swing at the beginning of the year, I just kind of said, ‘That’s enough of this,’ and really tried to put my head on straight."
She hasn’t finished better than 17th in three previous Lotte events at Ko Olina, but won the 2008 Fields Open in Hawaii on the same course. She also won the 2007 SBS Open at Turtle Bay, two years after making her professional LPGA Tour debut on the North Shore.
Creamer finished in a tie for 40th in the 54-hole tournament, but went on to win twice that season and claim LPGA rookie of the year honors.
She also became the fastest golfer ever to surpass $1 million in career earnings.
"I love playing in these types of golf courses," Creamer said. "Just the wind, the conditions, your misses are exaggerated so much when you play in this kind of weather.
"Being a good ball-striker is incredibly important, and that’s something that always was one of my strengths. For me, I like this. The windier it gets, the better."
That might suit her perfectly come Saturday.