Jessica Korda of the US yesterday ended a miserable run of form in emphatic style by holding off world No. 2 Lydia Ko of New Zealand to win the US$2 million LPGA Malaysia for her fourth career title.
The 22-year-old held a two-shot lead overnight and fired a final round six-under 65 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club for an 18-under 266 total, four clear of the in-form Ko (66), who was gunning for a third straight LPGA title.
Korda, in contrast, had managed just one top-10 finish this year and had failed to make the cut in five of her last six events, tumbling down to 50th in the world rankings and almost missing out on a spot in the field in Malaysia.
HUMID CONDITIONS
Her surprise victory against a high-caliber field in punishing humid conditions left her understandably emotional.
“Just to win again is amazing, especially after the year I have had,” said Korda, who began crying before holing out on the last.
The poor form led to her telling US Solheim Cup skipper Juli Inskter that she was not worthy of a captain’s pick for last month’s matches against Europe, which the US won without her.
However, a new coach and some quality time back in Florida helped spark a transformation.
“Just three weeks at home with my coach and family, and working a lot on physical aspects, I found a love for the game back,” Korda said when asked about the turnaround.
‘REFRESHED’
“My boyfriend and I played a lot with my sister, and I just enjoyed my time at home and came here refreshed,” she added.
Korda picked up her fifth birdie of the final round on the 10th to move four shots clear, but a nervy missed short par putt on 11 and a birdie by Ko on 12 halved the deficit to two as the pressure came.
However, Ko tossed in a bogey five at the 13th to give Korda breathing space and the American, daughter of former Australia Open tennis champion Petr Korda, confidently negotiated the tricky water-filled closing stretch.
A birdie two following a perfect tee shot at the 15th gave her a four-shot lead again as she finished clear of Ko, defending champion Feng Shanshan of China (66) and US world No. 3 Stacy Lewis (67).
Former world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan continued to show promising signs of a return to form with a fifth place finish on 13-under following a closing 66.
Fellow Taiwanese Hsu Wei-ling and Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung finished on three-under after carding 71s, while Min Lee finished the tournament at four-over.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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