Kim edges Gulbis in playoff to win Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic July 16, 2006 GolfWeb Wire Services Click here to find out more! SYLVANIA, Ohio -- Natalie Gulbis has waited 4½ years for her first LPGA Tour victory. Mi Hyun Kim made her wait a little longer. Advertisement Kim rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to beat Gulbis and win the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic on Sunday. The victory was worth $180,000 to the South Korean. It was her second victory of the year and seventh in seven seasons on Tour. She also won the Ginn Clubs & Resort Open in April. Gulbis, who often models for magazines and calendars, is one of the Tour's best-known players. Large galleries follow her every move. Still, she had never finished better than a tie for third in her five years on tour. It appeared Gulbis, who had five consecutive birdies on the front nine of the final round, had ended her drought when she stared down a 12-footer for birdie and the win on the second playoff hole but she missed it. After Kim hit her clutch putt, Gulbis was wide on a 9-foot putt to continue the playoff. The three top finishers each closed with 6-under 65s, with Kim and Gulbis completing regulation at 18-under 266. Paula Creamer, who birdied Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17 but missed a 12-footer at 18 that would have gotten her into the playoff, even sat down in the grass near the 18th green to watch the playoff. Both Kim and Gulbis missed birdie putts of about 12 feet on the first playoff hole. Gulbis had the advantage on the second sudden-death hole, but missed another 12-footer that would have given her the win. Se Ri Pak closed with a 66 to finish fourth at 268. She was trying to become only the third woman to win the same tournament five times. Mickey Wright won the Sea Island Open five times, and Annika Sorenstam has won the Samsung World Championship and the Mizuno Classic five times each. Sorenstam won the Mizuno five years in a row (2001-05). Reilley Rankin shot a 70 and was at 272, with Brittany Lang (66) and Sung Ah Yim (70) at 274. Annika Sorenstam, the 2000 Farr winner, made just one bogey all week but couldn't hit birdie putts. She finished with a 70 and was alone at 9-under 275. Gulbis and Kim started the final round tied for the lead and sparred throughout. Playing in the same grouping, Kim upstaged Gulbis with a birdie on the second hole -- hitting her approach on the waterlogged par-3 to 8 feet -- to take the lead before Gulbis answered with birdies on the next five holes. Kim birdied the last two holes on the front side to narrow the gap to two shots and both birdied the 10th -- Gulbis almost holing her iron approach, which came to rest just inches from the cup. They traded close calls on birdie putts down the stretch while Creamer jumped into contention with birdies at Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17 to draw within a shot of Gulbis. Kim's 4-footer for birdie at 16 drew her within a shot. At the par-5 17th, moments after Creamer had registered her fourth birdie in a row a group ahead, Gulbis needed a clutch wedge shot to save par while Kim made a tying birdie after spinning a wedge to 6 feet. At the 72nd hole, first Creamer, then Gulbis, and finally Kim all missed birdie putts of around 10 to 12 feet. Creamer needed hers to make the playoff. After her putt slid off the right edge, she covered her eyes with her right hand. As she walked off the green, she tossed her bright pink golf ball into the stands. The course was pounded by 2 inches of rain late Friday afternoon that disrupted the tournament and turned the course into a water park. A small stream that meanders through the layout flooded its banks and required a temporary bridge to be built. The players were ferried in carts across the now 75-yard wide torrent that bisects the course. The flood-stage water level dropped by about a foot overnight, but still created an impediment for players and spectators.