MELBOURNE, Australia — Former Arkansas Razorbacks golfer Stacy Lewis did not win the LPGA’s season opening Women’s Australian Open, but just making it to a playoff won by American teenager Jessica Korda was some consolation.
Korda, 18, made a 25-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff involving six players, including Lewis, for her first victory Sunday. Her father, Petr Korda, won the 1998 Australian Open tennis tournament, also in Melbourne.
Korda closed with a 1-over 74 to finish at 3-under 289 in the first women’s professional event at Royal Melbourne. Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks), Brittany Lincicome, Julieta Granada, So Yeon Ryu and Hee Kyung Seo also were in the playoff that matched the largest in an LPGA event.
Lewis needed a 3-under par round of 70 in the final round to make the playoff, after shooting a 4-over 77 on Saturday.
“I was just glad to post the number that I did, to even get in a playoff after the way I played [Saturday] was pretty incredible and just stayed patient out there,” Lewis said. “I had a couple of putts lip out, so you never know.”
One of those lip-outs came on the first playoff hole, which could have given her the outright victory.
“It looked good all the way, I thought I had made it,” said Lewis, who came into the season-opening LPGA event ranked No. 10 in the world. “I think with just a little less speed it would have been in. It was kinda my shot at it, it just didn’t quite work out.”
Lincicome, playing in threesome ahead of Lewis, also had a good chance to birdie the first extra hole, but her 6-foot putt circled the cup and stayed out.
“I couldn’t have hit it any better,” Lincicome said. “It was perfect, perfect speed. It was uphill. Lips out and comes back to you.”
On the second playoff hole, Korda birdied while Lewis, Lincicome, Granada and Seo made par and Ryu had a bogey. Granada missed a 12-footer that would have sent her and Korda back to the 18th tee for a third time.
“I’ve never done a playoff in general on the LPGA, so it was interesting,” said Lewis, who finished fourth on the LPGA money list last season. “It was hard having to wait and sit back on the tee and watch was going on, but it was a lot of fun though.”
Lewis, who won her first LPGA event last year at the Nabisco, was asked to describe Korda’s demeanor in victory.
“She seemed pretty calm out there, but it is a great win for her,” Lewis said of Korda. “She kinda struggled last year and didn’t have the best year I don't think, not what she was expecting, and to come out and get a win in the first tournament of the year that is a huge confidence builder for her. She is a young American, so I love to see that.”
Korda said victory had special meaning because it came in Australia, where her father won his only major title in his sport.
“For my first win, I honestly could not have thought of a better place,” Korda said.
Ryu and Seo, playing ahead of Korda and Nikki Campbell in the second-to-last group, topped the leader board at 4-under going into the final hole of regulation, but both closed with bogeys to shoot 73.
Korda made her winning putt in the second group on the second playoff hole,
“I was really calm,” Korda said. “I knew what the putt did because I’d had it before and it did not move. I was a little higher up and more to the right. I knew the line and I knew the speed. All I had to do was just hit it. It started breaking. I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness no, don’t lip out, don’t break too early.’ I don’t even know what side of the hole it hit. I was overwhelmed by everything.”
Korda is projected to jump from 285th to 30th in the world ranking and became the sixth youngest winner in LPGA Tour history. She earned $165,000, while the five playoff losers each received $63,784.
Jenny Shin finished a stroke out of the playoff at 2-under after a 70.
Top-ranked Yani Tseng, the winner the last two years at Commonwealth Golf Club, was 1-under after a 74. She had a triple bogey on the par-4 fourth, and bogeyed 15 and 16.
Sports, Pages 13 on 02/13/2012