Los Angeles: Nelly Korda birdied the first playoff hole to beat Ryann O’Toole at the LPGA Seri Pak Championship, where Korda’s second title in as many starts saw her return to world number one.
Korda has not played since defeating Lydia Ko in a playoff to win the Drive On Championship in Florida seven weeks ago.
But after shaking off the rust earlier in the week, she battled through “brutal” windy conditions at Palos Verdes Golf Club to claim the 10th LPGA title of her career.
Korda led by three after an eagle at the 14th but finished with back-to-back bogeys for a 69-under par to fall into a 9-under 275 tie with fellow American O’Toole, who had a 5-under 66 for the day’s lowest round .
A cold wind whipping across the picturesque Palos Verdes Peninsula south of Los Angeles made for a chaotic final round, with gusts moving balls on some greens and knocking good shots off target.
Australia’s Gabriela Ruffels and American Alison Lee held a share of the lead on the front nine before finishing tied for second with 276, Ruffels closing with a 1-under 70 and Lee leading with a 72.
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Overnight leader Shin Ji-yai of South Korea, a former world number one and two-time major winner, made a rare appearance at a tournament hosted by her childhood idol Pak Se-ri at the invitation of a sponsor.
She shot a two-over 73 to join a group on 277 that also included Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura (70) and American Andrea Lee (68).
“The weekend was brutal,” Korda said. “Today was really tough. But I think that’s also the beauty of the game.”
“It’s fun to play in these conditions and be a little artistic here.”
Korda, who is one under after two birdies and a bogey on the front nine, gained valuable ground with a rare birdie on the par-four 12th, where she fired about 12 feet out of the rough and heel-turned for a tie. for the lead with a score of 9 under.
The reigning Olympic champion was alone at the top of the leaderboard when she reached the par 14th, where she reached the green in two and drilled a testing left-to-right putt for eagle to give her a three-shot lead. 11-less.
