Lydia Ko of New Zealand won the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open for the third time, beating Stacy Lewis with a par on the first playoff hole at Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C., Canada.
The 18-year-old Ko, who is No. 2 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, claimed her eighth LPGA Tour victory, after also winning in Canada as an amateur in 2012 and 2013.
“It feels amazing,” said Ko, who won for the third time this season. “It’s great to come back to Vancouver and play well in front of such big crowds. I had an amazing week. I didn’t know that in 2012 I might be coming back here in a couple years, and then winning here again. So many great memories here.
“It would have been great if I was coming down the 18th with like a four-shot lead like I did in 2012. But it is what it is. Stacy played amazing today; to shoot 67 under those conditions.”
Ko closed with an even-par 72, carding her only birdie on the third hole, and the third-ranked Lewis caught her with a 67 that included birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to give her six for the round.
However, Lewis drove into trouble on the playoff hole and eventually missed a nine-foot par putt before Ko tapped in for a winning par from two feet.
“Well, if you would have told me at the beginning of the day, I was going to be in a playoff, I would have been pretty happy,” said Lewis, who is winless this year after claiming three tiles in 2014.
“Just with the way my game has been over the last month or so, I felt I was close to putting together a good round, and that’s what I did today. Still left a few out there. But would have liked a better lie in the rough in the playoff, but other than that, it was pretty good.”
Defending champion So Yeon Ryu carded a 64 and finished one shot behind in a tie for third with Sei Young Kim, also of South Korea, who had a 68, while Alison Lee of Valencia and UCLA shot 72 to finish another stroke behind in a tie for fifth with Candie Kung of Fountain Valley and USC, who struggled to a 74.
Shanshan Feng of China and Charley Hull of England finished three shots back in a tie for seven after 70s, while top-ranked Inbee Park posted a 70 and was another shot down in a tie for ninth with Karine Icher of France, who totaled 73, and Lexi Thompson, who came in at 70.
