Choi wins final LPGA Tour event of the year
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NAPLES, Florida (AP) - United States (US) Women's Open champion Choi Na Yeon won the Titleholders on Sunday to turn a great season into her best one yet.
Locked in a battle with Ryu So Yeon along the back nine, Choi pulled away with a wedge that had to hit a tiny spot on an elevated green with three tiers. It came off perfectly, spun to 3 feet for birdie and Choi took it from there. She closed with two pars for a 2-under 70 and a two-shot victory.
The 25-year-old from South Korea won for the second time this year, and she captured the two biggest paychecks on the LPGA Tour. She won US$500,000 (S$613,400) at the Titleholders, pushing her season earnings to a career-best US$1.9 million.
Ryu, honoured this week as the LPGA Rookie of the Year, hit 3-wood into about 25 feet for a two-putt birdie on the 13th to tie for the lead. But on the next hole, she didn't account for the wind making her 30-foot birdie putt faster than it looked. The putt went some 6 feet by the hole, and a three-putt bogey cost her a share of the lead. She never caught up.
