Na Yeon Choi wins the Hana Bank KOLON Championship with a birdie on the final hole at the Sky 72 Golf Club in South Korea. Choi edged out Yani Tseng and Maria Hjorth by one shot for her second victory of the 2009 LPGA season.
Choi shot a bogey-free 67 in the final round. She carded birdies on the first, fifth and seventh holes to get off to a great start. Choi birdied the 15th hole before sinking the tournament-clinching birdie on the 18th hole.
Tseng shot 68 in the final round. She made four birdies on the front nine, at the second, fourth, fifth and seventh holes, to shoot 32 on the front side. Her only bogey came at the 12th hole and she finished the round with a birdie on the 18th hole to fall one shot short of a playoff. Hjorth birdied six of the first eight holes but needed one more in her round of 67. She finished with 10 straight pars to finish one shot behind Choi.
Ran Hong finished at four-under par and in fourth place. Song-Hee Kim took fifth place at four-under par. Jiyai Shin extended her leads on the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year races with a sixth place finish. Brittany Lang tied for seventh place with Se Ri Pak, Anna Nordqvist and Inbee Park.
The LPGA will stay in Asia for another week as the Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club will host the Mizuno Classic in Shima-shi, Mie, Japan, where Shin is the defending champion.
Choi wins Hana Bank KOLON Championship
Choi shot a bogey-free 67 in the final round. She carded birdies on the first, fifth and seventh holes to get off to a great start. Choi birdied the 15th hole before sinking the tournament-clinching birdie on the 18th hole.
Tseng shot 68 in the final round. She made four birdies on the front nine, at the second, fourth, fifth and seventh holes, to shoot 32 on the front side. Her only bogey came at the 12th hole and she finished the round with a birdie on the 18th hole to fall one shot short of a playoff. Hjorth birdied six of the first eight holes but needed one more in her round of 67. She finished with 10 straight pars to finish one shot behind Choi.
Ran Hong finished at four-under par and in fourth place. Song-Hee Kim took fifth place at four-under par. Jiyai Shin extended her leads on the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year races with a sixth place finish. Brittany Lang tied for seventh place with Se Ri Pak, Anna Nordqvist and Inbee Park.
The LPGA will stay in Asia for another week as the Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club will host the Mizuno Classic in Shima-shi, Mie, Japan, where Shin is the defending champion.