Ko holds off Korda for Singapore victory
SINGAPORE — Jin Young Ko won for the first time in a year at the HSBC Women's World Championship and hopes this signals a new start from a year of battling injuries that cost her the No. 1 ranking.
Ko answered an early charge by Nelly Korda, held her nerve during a 58-minute storm delay late in the round and closed with three straight pars for a 3-under 69 and a two-shot victory in the LPGA tournament on Sunday.
Ko now has 14 career wins on the LPGA Tour, including two majors, along with 11 titles on the Korea LPGA. She called this win her “most important.”
“Because I had a tough year last year and fought with injury, and not good game and mentally tough and everything,” Ko said. “And then I won this week.”
Ko has been at No. 1 in the world ranking longer than any active player, and she was on top of the world when she won in Singapore a year ago. But then she began to struggle with her wrist, and even taking time off for rest late in the year didn't seem to help. She now is No. 5 in the world.
Taking down an familiar foe in Korda only added to the moment.
“It's always hard to play with Nelly, especially on Sunday,” Ko said. “We had a lot of times to play in 2021. She hits it farther than last year, I think, so I don't look at her ball. It's hard, but love to compete with Nelly.”
The 27-year-old South Korean began with a two-shot lead and opened with a birdie to extend the lead. Korda charged back with three straight birdies and closed to within one shot, only to make her lone bogey on the sixth hole. Ko eventually restored the lead to three shots.
Ko finished at 17-under 271 and earned $270,000. Allisen Corpuz (69), Danielle Kang (68) and Ayaka
Furue (67) tied for third at 14-under 274.
Kitayama’s birdie clinches Bay Hill
Kurt Kitayama let an All-star cast of contenders back into the tournament with a triple bogey, only to beat them all with
a clutch birdie and the best lag putt of his life to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Orlando, Fla., on Sunday.
With five players tied for the lead with only three holes left, Kitayama pulled ahead with a birdie putt from just inside 15 feet on the par-3 17th hole for the lead. Then, his 50-foot putt on the last hole stopped an inch from the cup.
Rory Mcilroy roared into the mix with four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn, only to miss a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole for the lead. He had a 70 and finished one shot behind. So did Harris English, who went bogey-free on the weekend at crusty, windy Bay Hill for a 70.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler was a foot away from having a close look at birdie and a chance to take the lead. Instead, his ball spun back into the rough on the 18th and he finished with a bogey.
Jordan Spieth was among six players who had at least a share of the lead over the final two hours.
He missed four straight putts inside 8 feet from the 14th through the 17th holes — three of them for par. He took the lead with a 15foot birdie putt, then played his last five holes in 3 over.
Spieth (70), Scheffler (73), Patrick Cantlay (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (72) all finished two shots behind.
Kitayama finished at 9-under 279 and earned $3.6 million.
“It went south on 9,” Kitayama said. “All of a sudden, I'm not leading any more. I just fought back hard, and I'm proud of myself for that.”
Echavarria nails down first title
Colombian rookie Nico Echavarria seized control with two straight birdies on the back nine and closed with a 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory in the Puerto Rico Open at Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, for his first PGA Tour title.
Echavarria was soaked on a sunny day at Grand Reserve, with friends and family dousing him with champagne after he tapped in for par.he tied the tournament record at 21-under 267.