WASHINGTON: South Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran bounced back from a shocking third round to beat compatriot Ko Jin-young in a playoff to win the LPGA’s FM Championship at TPC Boston on Sunday. Ryu had shot a superb 10-under-par 62 on Friday but followed it with a six-over 78 that threatened to undo all her good work, leaving her four shots off overnight leader and 15-time LPGA winner Ko.
But she showed no signs of that round affecting her focus as she went out and promptly birdied the first four holes on Sunday, reaching the turn at six-under on her way to a round of 64. Ryu’s lone bogey on the par-three 16th dropped her back into a tie with Ko at 15-under and an anxious wait to see if her compatriot could make a birdie over her final two holes.
Ko began the day with a two-shot lead and she built on that with an eagle at the par-five second and another at the par-four fourth. But after a bogey on the 10th she only managed one further birdie at the 14th. After a two-hour rain delay, she missed a nine-foot putt in wet conditions on the final green that would have given her victory. The pair went back down the par-five 18th, but Ko missed from 30 feet for par and Ryu tucked in a 12-foot birdie putt to secure her second victory on the LPGA Tour.
"The second win was so hard for me because this year I got many chances before, but I missed out a couple of times,” said Ryu. "But today, I don’t want to miss again. I was so nervous at the playoff, but maybe Ko Jin-young was the same,” she added. China’s Liu Ruixin finished a shot behind on 14-under after an eight-under 64 that began in remarkable fashion with birdies at each of her first seven holes. It was a second straight round of 64 for Liu - her lowest round in her career. American Allisen Corpuz and Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul finished a further shot back on 13-under after both carding 67s. — AFP