Inbee Park, on her way to matching a feat only Annika Sorenstam and Patty Berg had achieved, and reclaiming the No. 1 ranking from Lydia Ko, captured her third straight KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in a laugher Sunday at Westchester Country Club.
Inbee Park wraps up 3-peat, No. 1 ranking at KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Inbee Park leaves the talent-rich LPGA Tour field in her wake at Westchester Country Club as she cruises to her 3rd consecutive Women’s PGA Championship win.
Michael Cohen/Getty Images
Park fired a final-round 5-under 69 to post a 19-under for the week and win her sixth major title by five strokes over Sei Young Kim. With a bogey-free finale that featured five birdies, Park became just the third woman, behind Berg and Sorenstam, to three-peat at the same grand slam event.
The 26-year-old from South Korea also matched the LPGA Tour record for the lowest score in a major in relation to par and performed flawlessly since making her last of three bogeys on the 16th hole on Thursday.
“I do things that I can’t even believe,” Park said Sunday night after wrapping up her 15th tour victory. “I played great the last three days and I couldn’t even believe myself, I made no bogeys for three days.”
Sorenstam won the same major three straight years (2003-2005) when it was the LPGA Championship, while Berg won the Titlehoders Championship in 1937, 1938, and 1939.
“You really have to applaud Inbee Park,” Sorenstam said during NBC’s telecast of the event. “It has been from the very start, an amazing performance. It is always fun when records are broken — or tied.”
Park was projected to overtake Ko, who missed the cut for the first time in 54 tour starts, for the top spot in the Rolex Rankings. It will be her third time as No. 1, a position she has held for 73 weeks.
Lexi Thompson, with a final-round 66 (tied with Sandra Gal for the low score of the day and week) finished in third place, at 12-under. Reigning Kraft Nabisco champion Brittany Lincicome was next, at 11-under, followed by Morgan Pressel and 17-year-old phenom Brooke Henderson (10-under).
