San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Korda, Ko part of 4-way tie in LPGA Tour’s season finale
Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko are part of a four-way tie for the lead going into the final round of the season, with nothing less than $1.5 million and LPGA Player of the Year on the line.
Ko started pouring in putts from everywhere and ran off seven straight birdies that helped her make up a six-shot deficit and carried her to a 6-under-par 66. Korda followed by overpowering the par 5s on the back nine for a 67 to get back in the game at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla.
Korda and Ko were tied with Celine Boutier of France, who started with a four-shot lead and wasn’t hurt by her 72, and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka, who had the low round of a windblown Saturday at 64.
The four players were at 14-under 202, setting up a final day bursting with possibilities. Gaby Lopez of Mexico was poised to join the leaders until her approach to the 18th found water down a slope. She barely was able to find a spot to place the ball without it rolling away and did well to escape with bogey for a 69. Lopez and Monterey native Mina Harigae (69) were one shot behind the leaders.
The winner gets $1.5 million, the largest prize in women’s golf, and there’s even more at stake for the LPGA Tour’s two best players — Korda and Ko —
Olympic gold medalist Nelly Korda, left, and Jin Young Ko, right, are vying to be the LPGA Tour’s Player of the Year.
this year.
“It’s for other people,” Korda said of how the stage is set for the LPGA finale. “I’m just out there to do my job, taking a shot at a time, and see where it takes me. That’s all you can do.”
Korda and Ko each have four wins — one of those was a major for Korda, who also won an Olympic gold medal that doesn’t count on the LPGA scoreboard. Korda has a 10point lead in the race for player of the year, meaning Ko likely would have to win to surpass her.
“I have to win because she plays really well right now,” Ko said.
Korda felt she was struggling and losing ground until two shots did the trick.
She went for the green on the
par-5 14th into the wind. This was the same hole where Friday she leaked her fairway metal just inside the hazard and made bogey. The yardage was too good for her to ignore, and she hammered a 3-wood to about 10 feet, above the hole with a sharp right-to-left break, but it was an easy birdie.
And then on the par-5 17th with the wind at her back, she hit her biggest drive of the day that left her a 9-iron she hit to 4 feet for eagle.
“That eagle definitely helped,” she said.
PGA Tour: Talor Gooch managed a 3-under 67, stretching his lead to three shots going into the final round at the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Ga.
He was at 16-under 196, with Ireland’s Seamus Power (67) and Colombia’s Sebastian Muñoz (69) sharing second place.
Gooch pulled away with a short birdie putt at the par-5 15th hole and a 12-footer for birdie at the par-3 17th. He missed from 25 feet on the final hole but could hardly be upset about holding himself together on a cloudy, chilly, windy day.
“Any day like that is going to be a grind on the tour,” Gooch said. “It would have been easy today at times to just really get conservative and really be defensive. I was pleased I was able to stay aggressive at times.”
European Tour: Rory McIlroy shot a 5-under 67 to improve to 14-under, good for a one-shot
lead over Sam Horsfield in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Cal alum Collin Morikawa, still on course to become the first American to finish a season as the tour’s No. 1 player, was three shots back in a fourway share of fifth place after his round of 69.
Morikawa, playing alongside McIlroy, birdied three of his first six holes to move into a tie for the lead with his playing partner and four others. The American made par on each of his final 12 holes to slip off the pace.
“It was all over the place,” Morikawa said. “Front nine played pretty good but overall just didn’t take advantage of the par 5s.”