Park wins Women’s British Open
Earns 4th different major title, 7th overall
TURNBERRY, Scotland — Top-ranked Inbee Park won the Women’s British Open after coming from three shots behind fellow South Korean Jin-Young Ko in the final round Sunday, becoming the seventh female player to win four different majors.
Park picked up seven shots in her last 12 holes for a 7-under 65 to reel in Ko, who lost the lead at Turnberry when her second shot at No. 16 rolled into the burn. Park finished on 12-under 276.
The LPGA Tour is calling Park’s achievement a career Grand Slam, although Park hasn’t won the Evian Championship since it was given the status of a fifth major in 2013. She did win Evian in 2012.
“This is something I have been dreaming of all my life and all my career,” Park said. “To finally reach my goal is just a relief. ... I don’t know what else to go for.”
The Evian is next month in France, when Park can complete the modern-day Grand Slam and end the debate.
Park won her seventh major overall, and has captured six of the last 14.
Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstam are the other women to have won four different majors. Inbee Park became just the seventh woman to win four different major titles, capturing the British Open on Sunday.
MERRITT WINS QUICKEN LOANS
Troy Merritt won the Quicken Loans National for his first PGA Tour title, closing with a 4-under 67 for a threestroke victory over Rickie Fowler.
The victory came a day after Merritt soared to the lead with a tournament-record 61 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va. He won in his 96th career start on the tour, finishing at 18-under 266.
Fowler, who started the day a shot off the lead, made a birdie on the final hole to claim second, and David Lingmerth was third, but both had up-and-down rounds. Fowler shot a 69 that featured seven birdies and five bogeys, and Lingmerth’s 69 included five birdies and three bogeys.
On a day when no one shot better than 67, tournament host Tiger Woods also provided some excitement, making birdies on five of his first 10 holes to get to 10 under long before the leaders got underway.
But Woods faltered with three back-nine bogeys and shot a 68 to tie for 18th at 8 under.
OTHER TOURNAMENTS
3M Championship at Blaine Minn.: Kenny Perry successfully defended his title, shooting a 4-under 68 for a four-stroke victory over Bernhard Langer, Scott Dunlap and Kevin Sutherland.
After shooting a 61 on Saturday to take a four-stroke lead, the 54-yearold Perry had six birdies and two bogeys in the final round to finish at 18-under 198. He became the first player to successfully defend a title in the tournament’s 23-year history, winning for the eighth time on the Champions Tour.
Paul Lawrie Match Play at Aberdeen, Scotland: Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat won the inaugural event, holing a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 1-up victory over Sweden’s Robert Karlsson.
Madeira Islands Open at Santo da Serra, Madeira Islands: Finland’s Roope Kakko won his first European Tour title, closing with a 9-under 63 for a three-stroke victory over Scotland’s Scott Henry.