Ko, 17, is youngest to be a world No. 1

During a closing stretch that featured one of the more tumultuous final hours in recent LPGA Tour history, teen wunderkind Lydia Ko faced a series of tough predicaments. But a query that came after the final round gave her the biggest pause of all.

After reclaiming the lead late Saturday to set herself up for a double payoff of sorts, the 17year-old double-bogeyed the 71st hole in the inaugural Coates Golf Championship in Ocala, Fla., to lose by a shot to Na Yeon Choi.

However, Ko secured a piece of history that could be remembered long after the details of the tour’s season opener are forgotten. The South Korean-born New Zealander became the youngest player of either gender to climb to world No. 1, breaking the record set by Tiger Woods by almost four years.

“It’s going to be good,” Ko said. “I was here to focus on the tournament itself, but I guess I got a great outcome at the end of the day, too.”

Woods, previously the youngest golfer to reach No. 1, was 21 years, 5 months, 16 days when he reached the top in 1997. Ko reached the mark 3 years, 8 months, 14 days earlier. The men’s rankings were originated in 1986, and the women’s list is nine years old.

After carding an 82 and missing the cut Friday at the Phoenix Open, Woods will be out of the top 50 in the world ranking for the first time in more than three years. PGA Tour: For all his birdies, two big pars kept Martin Laird in control at the Phoenix Open. Laird made 10-footers for par on the 16th and 18th holes and had a 3-under 68, giving him a three-shot lead going into the final round over two players from the next generation.

Hideki Matsuyama, the 22-year-old from Japan who already has seven worldwide victories, roared into conten- tion with birdies on his last four holes for an 8-under 63, the low round of the tournament. Brooks Koepka, a 24year-old who traveled the world to get back home to America, finally found some fairways and used his power to shoot 64. They were tied for second with Zach Johnson, who had a 67. European Tour: Men’s world No. 1 Rory McIlroy shot a 6-under 66 to extend his lead to four strokes in the Dubai Desert Classic. McIlroy is at 20-under 196; Denmark’s Morten Orum Madsen (66) was second.