Ko holds off Kang to win in Florida
Lydia Ko pulled ahead with a birdie on the 15th hole and matched scores with Danielle Kang the rest of the way, closing with a 3under-par 69 for a one-shot victory on a chilly Sunday in the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in Boca Raton, Fla.
Ko won for the second straight season after enduring a three-year slump and picked up the 17th victory of her LPGA Tour career.
Kang, who closed with a 68, was trying to win back-to-back for the second time in three years. She won the season-opening Tournament of Champions a week earlier in Orlando.
U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso, now playing under the Japanese flag, birdied the last two holes for a 67 and finished two shots behind.
Ko finished at 14-under 274.
Nelly Korda closed with a 70 and tied for 20th, a result that is expected to drop her from No. 1 in the world ranking. Jin Young Ko, who skipped both Florida events to stay home in South Korea, would return to No. 1.
The LPGA Tour now takes a one-week break before wrapping up its Florida swing at the LPGA Drive On Championship.
Viktor Hovland beat Richard Bland in a playoff to capture the Dubai Desert Classic after Rory McIlroy missed a chance to win the title in regulation by bogeying the last hole.
Hovland claimed his third victory in five events by making birdie from inside 3 feet at the first playoff hole — the 18th — at Emirates Golf Club. Bland had just missed a birdie putt from longer out.
Both players finished at 12-under. Hovland shot 6-under 66 after finishing birdie-eaglebirdie. Bland birdied No. 18 for a 68.