Inbee Park of South Korea has won seven major titles, while Pernilla Lindberg of Sweden is seeking her first.
Park and Lindberg will return to the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage on Monday morning to determine the winner of the ANA Inspiration after battling on even terms through four playoff holes before darkness halted play on Sunday.
“I have nothing to lose tomorrow,” said the 31-year-old Lindberg, who has never won as a pro and took a three-stroke lead into the final round. “I’ve been out there for a long time today, so I’ll be ready to put my head on the pillow. I was nervous at the start, but when I made that birdie on the sixth hole it settled me down, and I was just grinding the rest of the way.
“My caddie told me I needed a birdie on 18 to get into a playoff and I was able to make it. I wasn’t nervous in the playoff. Inbee is one of the greatest female golfers of all-time and to be in a playoff with her is a great opportunity.”
Park made a four-foot birdie putt on the last hole to cap a 5-under-par 67 and Lindberg made her birdie from about the same distance for a 71, while Jennifer Song of USC closed with a five-foot birdie putt for another 67 and joined them in the playoff at 15-under 273.
All three parred the first two extra holes before Song dropped out with a par on No. 3 as Lindberg and Park carded birdies before playing the fourth playoff hole in near-darkness, with Park sinking a six-footer for par and Lindberg making a two-footer.
Each extra hole was played on the par-5 18th hole, but the playoff will continue on the par-4 10th.
“Finally we’re playing a different hole tomorrow, so I’m excited about that,” said Park, ranked ninth in the world, who has won 29 times in her pro career. “(No. 18) isn’t my favorite hole. It doesn’t really fit my ball flight with that big palm tree in the middle.
“I knew I had to make birdies on the last two holes to have a chance for a playoff and was able to roll them in. … It was really dark on the last playoff hole. I was putting in the dark and was fortunate to make that last one.”
Eighth-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand eagled the second hole and carded a 65 to finish one stroke back in a tie for fourth with Jessica Korda, who had a 66 with an eagle at No. 9, while Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Charley Hull of England were another shot back in a tie for sixth after 69s.
Ayako Uehara of Japan also shot 69 and was three down in solo eighth, while fourth-ranked Sung Hyun Park of South Korea struggled to a 74 and was four behind in a tie for ninth with Caroline Masson (68) of Germany, Jodi Ewart Shadoff (71) of England and Amy Olson (72).
Second-ranked Lexi Thomson tied for 20th after a 71, top-ranked Shanshan Feng of China shot 74 and tied for 25th, while seventh-ranked Cristie Kerr totaled 73 and wound up in a tie for 30th that included fifth-ranked I.K. Kim of South Korea, who had a 74.
Sixth-ranked Anna Nordqvist of Sweden shot 72 and tied for 40th, defending champion and third-ranked Seo Yeon Rhu of South Korea totaled 68 and wound up in a tie for 48th that included 10th-ranked Hyejin Choi of South Korea, who came in at 71.
Amateur Lilia Vu, a UCLA junior from Fountain Valley, tied for 40th with a 71, and Albane Valenzuela, a Stanford sophomore from Switzerland, stumbled to a 79 after playing well for three rounds and finished solo 59th.
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