Mediheal Championship: Lydia Ko wins her first tournament in two years
- Published
Lydia Ko's last tournament win came in July 2016
Mediheal Championship final round leaderboard |
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-12 L Ko (NZ), M Lee (Aus); -8 A Yin (US), S Feng (Chi), C Hull (Eng), J Korda (US) |
Selected others: E I Park (Kor), L Thompson (US); +3 B Law (Eng); +5 C Matthew (Sco) |
Former world number one Lydia Ko beat Minjee Lee in a play-off for her first tournament win since 2016 at the Mediheal Championship in California.
The New Zealander, 21, birdied the last for a one-under-par 71 to finish 12 under alongside Australian Lee, who had birdied her final two holes.
Ko then holed a three-foot eagle putt on the first play-off hole, the par-five 18th, to take the victory.
England's Charley Hull tied for third place, finishing on eight under par.
Ko, who became the youngest world number one aged 17 in 2015, last won a tournament when landing the Marathon Classic in July 2016.
She had started the day with a one shot advantage over the rest of the field but the lead changed hands four times over the final round as she started poorly with three bogeys in the first six holes before rallying.
"It's crazy because I was three-over for the day at one point," Ko said. "I said 'hey, you've just got to focus you never know what could happen' - and I was able to kind of put my game together on the back nine.
"When that putt dropped I was like 'Oh my God'. A lot of emotions, my whole team and my family have worked really hard for this moment."