World No. 1 Lydia Ko on Sunday captured her 11th US LPGA Tour title as she cruised to a four-stroke victory at the Kia Classic.
The 18-year-old teenager from New Zealand fired a five-under-par 67 to finish at 19-under 269 and earn US$255,000 in first-place prize money. She is to remain No. 1 for the 23rd straight week.
The victory puts Ko in the driver’s seat heading into this week’s ANA Inspiration, the first major championship of the season.
Photo: AFP
“I’ve been playing consistently well, so I’m really happy about that, but who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Ko said.
Ko maintained the lead throughout the fourth round as she went into the final day holding a three-shot lead.
She finished with seven birdies, including birdies on each of the final three holes.
South Korea’s Inbee Park shot a five-under 67 to finish alone in second place at 15-under 273. She had birdies on three of her first eight holes on Sunday to apply some pressure on Ko.
“I took a peek at the leaderboard and saw that Inbee was making a lot of birdies,” Ko said. “I knew that I had to focus until the last moment.”
“Fortunately, I made some birdies down the stretch, and that really helped,” she added.
Japan’s Ai Miyazato shot a six-under 66 in the final round to finish in third place at 276, while two South Koreans, Park Sung-hyun and Jenny Shin, finished tied for fourth at 277 after both shot even par on the final day.
Four players tied for sixth at 10-under 278: Gerina Piller, China’s Feng Shanshan, Jessica Korda and South Korea’s Kim Hyo-joo.
Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung of the US shot a 72 to finish tied for 16th place on seven-under, while Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling carded a 77 to finish tied for 60th place on two-over and former world No. 1 Yani Tseng finished in last place on 11-over after a 75.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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