Buick LPGA Shanghai

Kang Edges Out Korda By A Stroke With Commanding Short Game

Danielle Kang capped her 27th birthday with a nailbiting one-stroke win at the Buick LPGA Shanghai, fending off fellow American Jessica Korda for her second victory at the tournament.

Korda was the overnight frontrunner at 15 under, with the defending champion trailing by one in the second edition of the $2.1 million event.

Both had finished the penultimate day at six under par after Kang rallied from twin bogeys on the first two holes. But a bogey for Korda and a birdie for Kang flipped the lead on the first hole, with the defending champion's commanding short game keeping her ahead for most of the day.

"It was a really stressful day but I definitely really played well out there," said Kang. "I've never been more nervous than the last putt for some reason, but I made it."

Korda's superior driving drew her level twice, but a narrow miss on the green of the 11th notched her third bogey and she trailed for the rest of the round.

She nearly fell out of contention on the 512-yard 13th when a disastrous tee shot flew right of the fairway and came to rest against a spectator behind a tree, leaving barely enough room for her second swing. Salvaging a par, she went one under on the final par-five hole to bring her back within grasp of a playoff, but failed to capitalise on a birdie opportunity on the 18th.

"It was just one of those days where it just wasn't meant to be, I guess," said Korda. "If you were going to tell me at the start of the week I would've come out finishing second, play in the final group, and had the week I did I would've probably taken it, but this one definitely sucks."

Kang played solidly through the day to finish 16 under for the tournament with two birdies, dodging trouble on the 11th with a masterful recovery from the bunker with her second stroke.

It was Kang's third professional tournament win after last year's Shanghai victory and the 2017 Women's PGA Championship at Olympia Fields in Illinois.