Email tip swings major’s finish
So Yeon Ryu won the ANA Inspiration in a one-hole playoff with Lexi Thompson on Sunday after Thompson was given a four-stroke penalty late in the final round for an incorrect ball placement a day earlier.
Ryu birdied the 18th hole in the playoff to win her second LPGA Tour major title, but her celebration was muted because of the bizarre circumstances on the Dinah Shore Course in Rancho Mirage (Riverside County).
Thompson had a three-shot lead and appeared to be cruising to her second major championship when rules officials informed her of the penalty — two shots for misplacing the ball, two shots for signing an incorrect scorecard — with six holes to play.
An email from a television viewer during Sunday’s final round alerted officials to the violation committed Saturday, and the LPGA Tour confirmed it with video review. Thompson had marked a 1-foot putt with a coin on the 17th green during her third round Saturday, but she replaced the ball perhaps 1 inch out of position.
“It’s unfortunate what happened,” Thompson said. “I did not mean that at all. I didn’t realize I did that. I felt strong through the finish, and it was great to see the fans behind me.”
Thompson’s composure was visibly shaken when the ruling dropped her one shot off the lead, but she birdied the 13th hole. She got back into a fiveway tie for the lead, making three birdies and a bogey on the final six holes of regulation at Mission Hills Country Club.
Ryu birdied the 18th hole to move in front, but Thompson crushed her approach shot on the 18th several minutes later. With emotions visible on her face amid loud chants of her name, Thompson gathered herself — but left a 15-foot eagle putt about an inch short. She tapped in for birdie to match Ryu at 14-under-par 274.
Ryu, who also won the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, claimed her second major title with an excellent playoff hole after her final-round 68.
“I just cannot believe the situation,” Ryu said. “I didn’t even check the leaderboard. I thought Lexi played really, really well. I didn’t expect what happened to Lexi. It’s a very unfortunate situation. I didn’t expect it. I thought I’m well behind, so all I wanted to do was play my game.”
Redwood City’s Lucy Li, 14, wrapped up her second major tied for 70th. Li, the only amateur to make the cut, shot 72 to finish at 7-over 295. PGA Tour: Russell Henley overcame a four-shot deficit at the Houston Open, closing with a 7-under 65 for a three-shot victory over Sung Kang to qualify for the Masters.
“I wasn’t expecting to go back to Augusta,” he said. “I was planning on not going, but I was going to try my best to win. So, the fact I get to go back is pretty cool and I’m excited. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Henley finished with a bogey for 20-under 268. Champions Tour: Miguel Angel Jimenez made a birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Gene Sauers and win his second consecutive Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in Biloxi.
Jimenez looked as if he was going to win relatively easily, with a two-shot lead going into No. 18 at Fallen Oak.
The 53-year-old Spaniard then had a double bogey on 18 to finish at 2-under 70 for the round. Sauers made par to force the playoff, but his second shot on the playoff hole found the bunker, and he couldn’t recover.