Sei Young Kim of South Korea holed a three-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to turn back Carlota Ciganda of Spain and win the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Kim, the 2015 LPGA Rookie of the Year, seemed to have her fifth LPGA Tour victory in hand before making a bogey on the final hole to finish with a 3-under-par 68, while Ciganda had a bogey-free 67 to force the playoff.
“It was 109 meters to the pin,” Kim said of her brilliant approach shot on the playoff hole. “It was a lot of release so I just had 90 meters. I did, it worked.
“I was just angry on myself (about the closing bogey), yeah. I just say, I have to bounce back because today before I play, I setting my goal no bogey play but last one I missed with bogey. If I bounce back, yeah, it is a good work, so I did it well today.
“I’m very happy to win on the Fathers Day and give to my dad this trophy.”
Ciganda and Kim both drove the ball in the left rough on the first extra hole. The Spaniard played first and sent her approach long and left, then failed to get up-and-down for par before Kim holed the winner.
Kim improved to 3-0 in playoffs on the LPGA Tour.
“Only one can win and obviously I hit it to the rough,” said Ciganda, who was won three times in the Ladies European Tour but is winless on the PGA Tour. “It wasn’t an easy shot and she hit a really good one. “So, I mean, congratulations to her and she was better.”
In Gee Chun of South Korea, the reigning U.S. Open champion, closed with a 71 to finish two strokes back in solo third, while top-ranked Lydia Ko of South Korea shot 68 and was another shot back in a tie for fourth with 54-hole co-leader Lexi Thompson, who held a share of the lead until bogeys at the 12th and 13th holes led to a 72.
So Yeon Ryu of South Korea was four strokes down in sixth after a 68, followed by Shanshan Feng of China, who finished another shot back in seventh with a 71, and Azahara Munoz, who was six behind in eighth following a 69.
