Putting woes stymie Saso rally; Korda wins in 4-way playoff

MANILA, Philippines – Flawless off the mound and on her way to the green, Yuka Saso failed to complete what could've been an explosive finish as she struggled on Pelican Golf Club's last line of defense, settling for a three-under 67 for 14th place in the Pelican Championship won by Nelly Korda in a sudden death victory that secured her spot at No. 1 in the women's world ranking.

After a 25-27-25-putt performance in the first three days, the Fil-Japanese needed 33 putts to complete a 34-33 round, hampering her drive to post at least a Top 10 finish.

And her putting woes came on a day when she hit all fairways on a whopping 321-yard driving norm and flashed an impeccable iron game that saw her reach all greens in regulation.

Saso birdied the second hole, yielded a stroke on the seventh but gunned down four birdies in the next seven holes before bogeying the par-3 15th. She wound up with an 11-under 269 total, six strokes behind the playoff contenders worth $27,253 (P1.4 million).

Korda bounced back big from a disastrous triple-bogey on No. 17 in regulation as she birdied the difficult 18th twice in the day, draining a 21-footer to join the four-player playoff at 263 then rolling in a 23-footer to beat Lexi Thompson, also of the US, Kiwi Lydia Ko and last year's winner Sei Young Kim of Korea, and claim her fourth victory in the season and seventh of her career.

Korda looked headed for a cruise with a four-under card after 10 holes but bogeyed the 12th and yielded three strokes on the par-4 17th before hitting a birdie on the last to shoot a 69 at the par-70 Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. 

Thompson missed clinching it outright with a bogey on the 72nd hole and also closed out with a 69, while Ko fired a bogey-free 68, and Kim matched Korda's closing birdie to card a 67 as they matched 17-under totals.

"I honestly lost hope," said Korda, ruing her 7 on No. 17. "I was like, okay, just try to make a solid par because No. 18 is a really tough hole. If you have a chance for birdie, then try and go after it. But my caddie really kept me in the moment and I didn't give up. Thank God I didn't."

Korda thus joined world No. 2 Jin Young Ko, also of Korea, who closed out with a 66 to finish tied for sixth at 267 behind fourth placer Brooke Henderson of Canada (65-266), as the only players with four LPGA wins this season although she capped her title runs with a gold medal feat in the Tokyo Olympics.

She hopes to cap her sterling campaign with another victory in the season-ending $5 million CME Globe Tour Championship firing off Thursday (Friday, Manila time) in Naples, also in Florida, where Saso is also seeking a strong finish.

The final round lived up to its hype despite Korda's threat to pull away with her cluster of birdies as Ko moved from joint sixth to figure in the title chase with her flawless card, Kim kept her hopes for back-to-back title feat with a 33-34, and Thompson boosted her own drive for a 12th LPGA crown with three birdies after 11 holes.

Thompson seized control despite a bogey on the 17th as Korda reeled back with that 7. With a one-stroke lead over Ko and Kim, Thompson flubbed a four-footer for par then missed again from the same spot in the playoff to settle for joint second.

The victory thus firmed up Korda's hold of the world top ranking and she moved 12 points ahead of Ko for the LPGA Player of the Year derby going to the final leg in Naples.