I have a question regarding stopovers in the originating continent.

I am originating in North America, and plan to finish my RTW by flying SYD-HNL-LAX-ORD-YOW, with a stopover in Honolulu and Los Angeles. (I won't have used any NA stopovers at the beginning of my itinerary, just one segment -- YOW-ORD -- en route to Europe).

From my understanding I am allowed 2 stopovers in the originating continent, as long as one is in the international arrival or departure gateway, which in my case should be fine (HNL). However, since the rules also state that once the maximum stopovers have been reached, additional flight segments are forfeited, am I going to be dinged for two flight segments after the LAX stopover?

If that's the case, I can't think of any scenario where you could actually have 2 stopovers in your continent of origin, because by definition, after your last stopover, you would still require segments to fly to your final destination. For example, if my first stopover is HNL, then no matter where I stopped over for a second one, I would still need at least one flight segment to get home. And if I flew direct from SYD-LAX, same thing would apply. I'd get the one stopover in LAX, but no other one without requiring additional segments afterwards. They can't be counting your final destination as a stopover, can they?

It seems like this segment forfeiting rule will only work when you're moving on to another continent from your final stopover, which obviously isn't going to happen on your way back to your starting point.

I'd appreciate any clarification on these points.

Thank you.