INCHEON, South Korea — World No. 5 Lexi Thompson posted a final round, three-under-par 69 Sunday to take the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship in South Korea — her second Tour win of the season.
The American had been one stroke off the lead going into the final day, but just one dropped shot on the 11th hole and four birdies saw her clinch victory by a single stroke from former world No. 1 Yani Tseng and Korea LPGA Tour star Park Sung-hyung.
“It’s very satisfying,” Thompson said afterward. “I always look forward to coming back to South Korea and playing in front of these amazing fans .... but getting a win, it means so much.”
Tseng shot a solid 68 Sunday but will have to wait at least another week to grab her first LPGA win since March 2012. This was her fourth top-10 finish of the year, and third in her last four starts.
Tseng hopes victory will finally come on home soil, when the LPGA Tour’s annual Asian swing takes in the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship starting Thursday.
South Korean Park Sung-hyun, who set the course record with a 10-under 62 in the first round, had shared top spot on the leaderboard going in to the final round.
But bogeys on the third and 12th and just a single birdie on Sunday saw her pipped at the post by Thompson.
In joint fourth place was South Korean Amy Yang who equalled Park’s 10-under course record to shoot up the leaderboard.
Yang birdied every hole on the back nine, matching the LPGA record for most consecutive birdies in one round.
Kuchar clan victorious
Matt Kuchar secured a four-stroke victory at the Fiji International Sunday, savoring a special moment with his father, who carried his bag throughout the tournament.
Peter Kuchar often caddied for the world No. 16 during his amateur days, providing fatherly advice at major golf tournaments including the Masters and US Open.
Starting the final round in calmer weather with a two-shot lead, Kuchar fired a three-under 69 to finish well ahead of Australia’s Aron Price.
It was local hero Singh who caught the eye in the final round on the course he designed for the Aus$1.125 million (US$820,000) event.
Singh, who has not won an event for seven years and was in 33rd positon after Thursday’s opening round, hit a seven-under 65 to shave two shots off the course record.
The veteran managed seven birdies to finish joint third with New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and Australian Nick Cullen, five shots behind Kuchar.
Hend cruises to victory
Australian Scott Hend Sunday won a second Venetian Macau Open victory in three years after holding off title holder Anirban Lahiri and Chiragh Kumar of India with a final round of five-under-par 66.
Hend cruised to a three-stroke triumph at the Macau Golf and Country Club to become only the second player after China’s Zhang Lian-wei to win twice at the US$1 million Asian Tour event with a tournament record of 20-under-par 264.
The 42-year-old, who was pipped by Lahiri last year, collected the winner’s check of $180,000. Lahiri and Kumar shared second place after closing with a 66 and 65 respectively.
