Lydia Ko, two weeks removed from the first missed cut of her young career, went on a furious birdie run in Sunday’s finale of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, but it was not enough to overcome Na Yeon Choi for the title.
Lydia Ko’s final-round birdie binge falls short as Na Yeon Choi wins in Arkansas
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Ko charged out of the gate in Sunday’s third and final round of the 54-hole tourney with three straight birdies. She added five more, including one on her last hole, on her way to a closing 8-under 63. Her stellar performance put her at 11-under and in a tie for sixth place with Paula Creamer and rookie Minjee Lee.
Choi, however, went on a run of her own down the stretch, holing out for eagle on the par-4 16th and stuffing her tee shot on the par-3 17th for a tap-in birdie and second consecutive deuce.
For Choi, the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open champion, it was her second LPGA Tour victory of the season and ninth of her career. She finished two shots ahead of Mika Miyazato and two strokes better than a trio of players, including third-ranked Stacy Lewis.
Finishing at 15-under at Pinnacle Country Club, Choi used an 8-iron from 142 yards on the 16th and was unaware that her ball took one bounce and disappeared into the cup. Another 8-iron on No. 17 stopped a foot from the pin.
“After I hit the second shot [on 16], I knew this is going to be good,” Choi said after posting a closing 69. “Unfortunately I couldn’t see the ball going in. I just heard a lot of screaming around the green.”
As for Ko, her 63 was the lowest score of the day and matched Choi and Mi Jung Hur for the best round of the week.
The 18-year-old lost her No. 1 status to Inbee Park when the latter won her third consecutive Women’s PGA Championship on June 14. Though Park missed her first cut of the 2015 season on Friday, she will retain her top spot heading into next week’s U.S. Open.
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