Kang falls in playoff at South Korean event
Ha Na Jang birdied the third playoff hole Sunday to beat San Francisco native Danielle Kang at the LPGA’s BMW Ladies Championship.
Both players parred the par4 18th twice in the playoff before moving to the 10th hole at the LPGA Busan International course in South Korea, where Jang’s three clinched it after hitting her 95yard approach to 4 feet.
Kang, who birdied eight of her first 13 holes for a 64, and Jang, with a 65, finished at 19under 269. Kang won last week in Shanghai, the first of four LPGA events in Asia.
Jang, who is based in Seoul, had an eagle and three birdies on the back nine, including on the par4 17th that moved her into a tie for the lead.
On the first playoff hole, both players missed the 18th green, with Kang going over the green and Jang leaving her approach short. After two par saves, it was back to the 18th tee. Kang put her approach shot to 10 feet, but her birdie putt hit the hole and lipped out.
“I will not play that putt any different,” Kang said. “That was such a good stroke. I thought it was in.”
On the third playoff hole, after Kang’s 20foot birdie putt missed to the right, Jang tapped in the winning putt and immediately raised her arms to the sky in victory.
“I knew I had to make it. I read the line the way I wanted to read it and hit the speed I wanted to hit and I stroked it, and if it goes in, it goes in and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” Kang said.
England’s Steven Brown won the Portugal Masters in Vilamoura for his first European Tour title, closing with a 5under 66 for a onestroke victory over South Africans Justin Walters (66) and Brandon Stone (70).
North Carolina wins NWSL title
Debinha scored in the fourth minute and the North Carolina Courage beat the Chicago Red Stars 40 in Cary, N.C., for the their second straight National Women’s Soccer League title.
Jessica McDonald, Crystal Dunn and Sam Mewis added goals for the Courage, who won the NWSL Shield for the third straight year with a leaguebest 1554 regularseason record. The Courage beat Reign FC 41 in extra time in the semifinals.
The Red Stars had a sixgame winning streak heading into the final, including a 10 victory over the Portland Thorns in the semifinals.
Debinha’s rebound shot got past Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to open the scoring early before McDonald’s header off a feed from Lynn Williams in the 26th minute. After Dunn scored in firsthalf stoppage time, Mewis added a goal off a long ball from Abby Dahlkemper in the 61st.
North Carolina’s four goals were the most in an NWSL title match.
Tennis: Roger Federer won his hometown Swiss Indoors title for the 10th time by dominating Alex de Minaur in a 62, 62 victory. Federer, 38, put on a tennis clinic in his first match against the 20yearold Australian, who was not born when Federer turned professional and first played at Basel in 1998.
Topranked Ashleigh Barty rebounded from a set down to win her debut match 57, 61, 62 over Belinda Bencicat the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China. Earlier, Naomi Osaka extended her winning streak to 11 matches after defeating Petra Kvitova 76 (1), 46, 64.
Horse racing: A 2yearold filly injured her right front leg less than a halfmile from the finish line in a race at Santa Anita and was euthanized, the 36th horse to die at the Southern California track since December.
The incident occurred in the third race when Bye Bye Beautiful was pulled up with a fracture past the halfmile pole by jockey Tiago Pereira. It was the second fatality in three days and the fourth since the fall meet began Sept. 27.
Santa Anita is hosting the Breeders’ Cup world championships this week.