Lydia Ko hit a 10-foot birdie to win the Marathon Classic Sunday for her fourth LGPA tour victory of the season, besting rivals Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Mirim Lee of South Korea, in the tournament’s longest playoff.
The Korean-born New Zealander Ko, 19, is also the holder of the 2014 title and now has 14 LGPA titles to her name.
“Just to see a putt drop for birdie, I think, kind of got my emotions going,” Ko told reporters.
Ko matched Jutanugarn and Lee with a closing of 2-under 69, both of whom closed at 14-under 270. The Highlands meadow course in Ohio would see the par-5 18th played four more times before a winner was finally decided.
Thank you everyone for the support! Its really been a great week @MarathonLPGA !!! Cant wait to come back next year ✌️
— Lydia Ko (@LydiaKo) July 18, 2016
“Not a very easy hole,” Ko told the Associated Press. “With the wind blowing left to right and the pin tucked on the left, it was probably the toughest it’ll play. I think we were all getting a little bit physically and mentally tired as we were continuing to play the same hole.”
Starting off the final day a couple shots behind the leading pack, Ko hit three birdies in her first six holes, putting her back in the competitive running. The three-way playoff was a lot of back and forth, with each player missing chances to end the game until Ko sunk a 10-foot birdie on the fourth extra hole, winning the title.
Ko is ranked No.1 in the world, with good reason – her victory at the ANA Inspiration in April made her the youngest player to be a double major winner since 1869. The champion is next eyeing the British Open at Milton Keynes, which begins July 28.
