The World’s No. 1 ranked player, Inbee Park, birdied the 18th hole for the second time on Sunday, and prevailed in a sudden death playoff to win the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G over So Yeon Ryu.
At the start of the final round on Sunday, there was a four-way tie for the lead between Ryu, former University of Arkansas player Stacy Lewis, Spain’s Beatriz Recari and Japan’s Chie Arimura at 10-under and two ahead of the field.
Park was among those two shots behind, a four-way tie herself, along with fellow South Koreans I.K. Kim, Ji Young Oh and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum.
First round leader, Japan’s Mika Miyazato, started ninth on Sunday, but shot a bogey-free 67 to finish at 11-under. Last year, she finished second in this tournament because she missed a birdie putt on the 18th hole, and missed one again this year; she would finish in solo third-place this year.
But Park and Ryu were still on the course. Park was at 11-under at that moment and Ryu 10-under. But Ryu would birdie the Par-3 17th to join Park and Miyazato in a three-way tie at the top at 11-under. Shortly after, Park would birdie the Par-5 18th to be new clubhouse leader at 12-under, and force Ryu to birdie 18th to go extra holes.
Ryu would do just that, making birdie on the 18th and joining Park at the 18th hole for a sudden death do over. But playing the 18th again, it was Park, who was able to get her third shot within four feet for a makeable birdie-putt for the win.
And showing displaying the calm, razor-sharp focus and determination that’s earned her the #1 spot in the Rolex Ranking, she drained the birdie-putt to win her second consecutive title and fifth overall this year.
She now has seven wins in her past 23 starts and will head to next weekend’s US Women’s Open with tremendous momentum. The $300,000 paycheck raises her total for the year to $1,521,827, almost double the total of Suzann Pettersen in second-place.
New Zealander 16-year-old phenom, Lydia Ko, the world’s top ranked amateur, shot a bogey-free 68 final round and finished in a T-4th at 10-under with Stacy Lewis and IK Kim. Ko once again displayed that confidence, shot making ability and creativity beyond her years, that has taken her to make her brilliant run of form in LPGA Tour events.
As for Lewis, Ricari and Arimura, who were tied with Ryu at the top of the leaderboard at the start of the final round, Lewis made a double-bogey on the Par-5 seventh hole, and while she would get those two shots back with birdies on the eighth and 10th holes, another bogey on the Par-4 15th dropped her to nine-under and with too much ground to make up in three holes.
Arimura, made a birdie on the Par-4 fifth hole to move to 11-under, but three bogeys in the next nine holes, dropped her to eight-under and like Lewis it was a hole to deep to get herself out of it to contend.
Recari wasn’t able to sustain her momentum from the second round and secure the co-lead as she made a bogey on the Par-5 seventh and then started her back nine with consecutive bogeys, which killed her chances.
Airumura and Recari would finish in a T-7th with Pettersen and Paula Creamer. Both Pettersen (67) and Creamer (68) shot bogey-free rounds for a strong finish that could help their momentum for next week.
Another notable finishes for the Top 10 players in the Rolex Rankings: defending champ Ai Miyazato (T-11th, eight-under), Shanshan Feng (T-13th, seven-under), Na Yeon Choi (T-17th, six-under), Jiyai Shin (T-35th, three-under) and Yani Tseng (T-57th, one-over).
The tour now moves the Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, NY for the LPGA’s third major of the season, the U.S. Women's Open Conducted by the USGA Info. Will Park make it three-for-three?