Korda catches, beats Kang in playoff to win opening event

GOLF

LAKE BUENA VISTA: Jessica Korda closed with a 5under 66 and holed a 9m birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Danielle Kang in the Tournament of Champions and start the LPGA Tour season on a good note.

Korda won for the sixth time on the LPGA Tour, and it was her first victory in nearly three years. She shot a careerbest 60 on Sunday.

‘‘I knew I was going to have to go low today,’’ said Korda, who has won half of her tournament victories at seasonopening events.

‘‘It was a crazy day . . . A crazy two days. A crazy week!’’

Kang started the final round at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club in Orlando yesterday with a twoshot lead.

She quickly stretched the advantage to four shots with an opening birdie and Korda dropping a shot on the third hole.

That was Korda’s last mistake.

Kang had a twoshot lead with four holes to play when she made her first bogey of the tournament — and her first bogey in 65 holes dating to last season — on the 15th. Korda caught her with a birdie on the 16th.

‘‘When you’re chasing, you need to keep the pedal to the metal,’’ Korda added.

Nelly Korda, the younger sister of Jessica who joined them in the final group, got within two shots of the lead. She closed with a 64 and finished two shots out of the playoff.

Kang, who shot 68, had to make a 1m par putt on the par3 18th to force a playoff at 24under 260.

Going back to the 18th for the playoff, Kang appeared to have an advantage with a tee shot pinhigh about 5.5m to the right. Korda was 9m short, roughly the same putt she had in regulation.

This time, she read the speed perfectly and rolled it in. Kang’s birdie putt to extend the playoff was low all the way.

Kang, also seeking her sixth LPGA victory, had spoken all week about not being able to prepare for the event as she normally would.

That caught up to her down the stretch. Though she never tested positive for Covid19, she twice was exposed, and took six tests before getting on a plane from Las Vegas to Orlando.

‘‘I’m not disappointed in that I didn’t win,’’ Kang said.

‘‘It’s not about winning and losing for me. It’s about being able to execute when I want to — and having a feeling when I feel like I can’t do something is something I don’t like.’’

It was the secondstraight year the event has gone into extra holes.

Korda (27) is now 20 in playoffs on the LPGA Tour. — AP