Ko wins season finale

Jin Young Ko missed most of the LPGA Tour season and still won the year-long money title. That’s what a $1.1 million check does. Ko, the No. 1 player in the world, put an emphatic capper on her truncated year Sunday by shooting a final-round 6-under 66 and winning the CME Group Tour Championship by five strokes over Hannah Green and Sei Young Kim. With a birdie on the final hole, the LPGA’s final putt of the season, Ko finished at 18 under for her seventh career LPGA win. Green’s final-round 67 — on her 24th birthday — helped push her into the second-place tie. Kim, who took a one-shot lead into the final round, shot 72 and that was good enough for her to clinch Rolex Player of the Year honors. Danielle Kang won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average. Ko started the final round one shot back of Kim and opened with a birdie. The key stretch was Ko’s run of three consecutive birdies on the 12th through the 14th — her longest such run of the week. She left a chance for a fourth in a row just left of the cup on 15, then all but wrapped up the win with another birdie on the 16th. Ko moved to $5,600,824 in career earnings, making her the 71st player in LPGA history to cross the $5 million mark. Gaby Lopez (Arkansas Razorbacks) finished with a 71 on Sunday and completed the tournament with a 5-under 283. Stacy Lewis (Razorbacks) turned in a 69 on Sunday and was 1-over 289 overall. Maria Fassi (Razorbacks) fired a 2-under 70 on Sunday and was 4-over 292 for the week.