Jennifer Kupcho outlasts Nelly Korda, Leona Maguire to win playoff at Meijer LPGA Classic
Nelly Korda and Leona Maguire each birdied the par-5 closing hole to get into a three-way playoff at the Meijer LPGA Classic.
Jennifer Kupcho made par on the last but in the playoff, she was the only one of the three to birdie the 18th at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan, clinching her second win of the season. Kupcho also won the Chevron Championship, her first major.
Kupcho led after 18 and 36 holes and only surrendered the 54-hole lead when Nelly Korda made eagle on the 18th hole Saturday evening.
On Sunday, Kupcho had an up-and-down round. She double bogeyed the third and bogeyed the sixth before rebounding with an eagle on No. 8 and birdies on Nos. 9, 12 and 14. A bogey on 16 led to a final-round 71 but she made the most of the playoff.
She will take home $375,000 for the win, giving her $1,333,521 in earnings this season and $2,831,793 in her career.
Lydia Ko missed out on the extra golf by a shot. Her final-round, bogey-free 68 left her just short at 17 under. Lexi Thompson birdied the 18th hole but bogeys on Nos. 11, 14 and 15 proved to much to overcome. She tied for fifth with Jessica Korda, Carlota Ciganda and Atthaya Thitikul. Brooke Henderson, last week’s winner on the LPGA, finished 15 under, tied for ninth.
The third major of the LPGA season is next week with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which will be staged at historic Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.
