Lexi Thompson wins LPGA Tour event in Korea

Lexi Thompson of the United States poses with the trophy after winning the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship golf tournament at Sky72 Golf Club in Incheon, Sunday. / AP-Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

INCHEON -- Lexi Thompson fired a 3-under 69 on Sunday to win the LPGA Tour event in Korea, the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.

Thompson, who jumped into second place a day earlier, played a solid and consistent game Sunday, wrapping up her tournament with a 15-under 273 at the par-72, 6,364-yard Ocean Course at Sky 72 Golf and Resort in Incheon.

This is the 20-year-old American’s second win of the year, following the Meijer LPGA Classic victory in July and the sixth in her LPGA Tour Career. By collecting the trophy, her ranking is expected to be raised one spot from No. 5 to No. 4.

“What a day it was,” Thompson said during a post-round interview. “I didn’t look at the leaderboard until the 17th green, so I didn’t really know what was going on and I just tried to shoot as long as I could.”

Thompson, who suffered from ill health earlier in the week, said she didn’t expect “much” from the tournament, but got better as the week went on and eventually became the first American and the fourth non-Korean winner of the tournament.

“It was tough. … Getting sick earlier this week, it was tough. I was throwing up a lot and I didn’t have any energy, so I didn’t really expect much because I was tired. But I got better as the week went on, after taking a bunch of medicine,” she said.

“I don’t really play for myself as much as I play for my country. I love being an American and it’s a great honor to be the first American to win in Korea,” she said.

While other top group players’ numbers fluctuated throughout the week, Thompson reduced her shots consistently, going 68-67-69-69 during the four-day tournament.

While Thompson was consistent, Park Sung-hyun and Lydia Ko, who played fine golf throughout the tournament until Saturday, fell short of their earlier performances in the final round, with Park shooting a one-under par and Ko recording an even par. Park posted a 14-under par 274 to share second place with the 2011 winner Yani Tseng of Taiwan, and Ko carded a 13-under par 275 to settle for No. 4.

On the surge on Sunday was Amy Yang, who held at three-under par until Saturday but fired a whopping 10-under par in the final round to finish her tournament with a 13-under par 275, two strokes behind Thompson. Yang holed out nine consecutive birdies from No. 10 to 18 to become the second player to accomplish such a feat, following LPGA Tour Hall of Famer Beth Daniel who fired nine birdies in a row during the Philips Invitational second round in 1999.

Unlike initial expectations that Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson would be on a collision course again for the final round, Ko’s short game, which sent her to the top of the leaderboard in the earlier rounds, faded from her, forcing her to shoot an even par in the final round.

The two dueled neck and neck in the final round of the 2015 Evian Championship, with Ko winning the tournament and Thompson settling for second place. This time, however, Thompson prevailed to collect the $2 million prize money.

The early round had been a heated contest between Thompson, Park and Ko. The three held on to a neck-and-neck race for the first nine holes but Ko started to lose her grip on the trophy as she struggled on the ninth.

Ko chipped the ball into the bunker, which lies right in front of the green, as her second shot went short. She attempted to overcome the stiff slope, but her third shot this time flew behind the green, resulting in a bogey on the par-4 hole.

While Park, who sank a 2.5-meter eagle putt on No. 7 to recover from the bogey on No. 3, she only managed to par the hole, Thompson holed out with a bogey on No. 9, to build a 15-below par lead.

Ko made another bogey on the 11th and was tied at sixth place. She made a spurt later in the round by birdying on Nos. 13 and 16, but her bid to become the youngest winner in the tournament’s history ended short by two strokes as she failed to make good shots on Nos. 17 and 18. The youngest winner of the tournament was Baek Kyu-jung, when she won the 13th edition of this tournament last year at 19 years and four days.

Park, who made headlines with her course record setting 10-under par on the first round, committed a bogey on No. 12 and failed to narrow the gap afterward. She had a chance to chase Thompson on No. 15, but her middle-distance putt for birdie stopped just centimeters away from the cup to force her two shots behind the American.

With Thompson dithering on No. 18 as her second shot found the gallery instead of the green, she managed to par the hole. All eyes were on the group of Park, Ko and Lee Mi-rim, but both Park and Ko failed to overcome the gap in the remaining holes, giving Thompson a big smile for the trophy.

“I did quite well given that I was in the top group during the four rounds of my first LPGA competition,” Park said. “Still, it is sad because I could have won the tournament. … The 14th and 15th are regretful. I made good second shots on both holes but I missed short putts for birdie.”

Park, who surged as the hotshot of the tournament, impressing Thompson, said she is still not ready to play on the LPGA Tour.

Meanwhile, World No. 1 Park In-bee, who spent a tough week, being tied at No. 15 with an 8-under par 280, managed to maintain her No. 1 position as Ko shares fourth place with Amy Yang and Gerina Piller. In the money rankings, however, Ko took over from Park to lead the table and also was tied with Park at No. 1 in the Player of the Year race.