Palos Verdes Estates, California. (AP) — Nellie Korta fell in a playoff on her final two holes Sunday and quickly made up for it, hitting a 12-foot birdie putt to defeat Ryan O'Toole at the Fir Hills Cherry Bag. Championship returns to world no.
Korda, who finished with a 2-under 69, won for the second time this year, both involving surprising slumps and spectacular comebacks.
„I've aged very quickly here,” said the 25-year-old Gorda.
She won the Drive On Championship in Florida in January, dropping four shots on three holes on the back nine, rallying with an eagle-birdie finish to beat Lydia Cove.
Korda, playing for the first time since a drive-on win in late January, took control with a fairway down the hill on the par-5 14th. The ball caught a slant on the back of the green and rolled down 18 feet, and she made an eagle putt.
O'Toole holed a 20-foot par putt on the 18th for a 66 that was only good for second. But then Korda missed a 6-foot par putt on the par-3 17th, and he went long on the 18th to make another bogey.
They finished at 9-under 275, and the playoff ended quickly.
O'Toole hit the 7-iron to about 15 feet from the right rough and his birdie putt burned the edge of the cup. Gorda hit an 8-iron to 12 feet and poured it in for her 10th career LPGA title.
Gorda decided to skip the entire Asia swing, giving him almost two months off. She felt rusty in the beginning and got sharper as the week went on. His swing coach, Jamie Mulligan, worked down the road at the Virginia Country Club in Long Beach and was able to work with him after each round.
„That really helped,” Gorda said. „It's not easy coming back after a long break and not knowing where your game is.”
The brutal conditions of wind and cold made it difficult. O'Toole was wearing ear muffs when he drilled his clutch putt at the end of regulation.
Gorda seemed to accept the challenge.
„The weekend was brutal,” he said. „That's the beauty of the game, too. It's fun to play in these conditions and be a little more artistic.”
Former world No. 1 Jiayi Shin, the best player on four World Tours, shared the lead heading into the final round but fell back for good with a three-putt double bogey on the 12th. He finished with a 73 and tied for fifth place.
Gabriella Ruffels (70) and Alison Lee (72) tied for 3rd place. Raffles needed a birdie on the final hole to qualify for the playoff.
Korda replaces Lilia Wu at No. 1 in the women's world rankings.
„Całkowity introwertyk. Nieprzejednany specjalista od sieci. Przyjazny fanatyk bekonu. Student ekstremalnych. Miłośnik piwa. Organizator.”