17-year-old Lydia Ko pulls CME double, earns $1.5 million
Lydia Ko is 17, still old enough to have to earn an allowance. Her mom gives her $15 per birdie, per day. So, on Sunday, she earned $1,500,060.
Wait, what?
Well, Ko made four birdies in shooting a final-round, 4-under 68 at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla. That was good enough to lock up the first season-long Race to the CME Globe on the LPGA Tour and, with it, its $1 million first-place prize. It was also good enough to land her in a playoff with Julieta Granada and Carlota Ciganda for the year's final tournament. Four playoff holes and four steady pars later, Ko had outlasted her challengers and won the event and another $500,000.
All in all, not a bad day.
For Ko, that's her third win on the season and her fifth LPGA Tour win before turning 18, which she'll do next April. She also won the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in April and the Marathon Classic in July,
The next step for Ko? A major title. The Kiwi teen's best finish this season was third in the LPGA Championship.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
