Seoul: Kim Hyo-joo has settled for a runner-up finish at the first LPGA major tournament of the season after pushing her way into a record-setting playoff. The South Korean veteran lost in a five-way playoff at the Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, as Mao Saigo of Japan emerged victorious with a birdie on the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this was the first five-way playoff in LPGA major history. Kim and Saigo, along with Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, Yin Ruoning of China, and Lindy Duncan of the United States, finished 72 holes knotted at seven-under 281. Kim had the best final-round score in that group after shooting two-under 70 on Sunday, with three birdies and one bogey, all of them on the front nine.
In the playoff, Kim laid up and put her third shot a few feet above the hole for a birdie opportunity. But she pulled the putt just to the left of the cup and settled for par. Yin looked poised for the win after giving herself an eagle putt with a towering second shot, but she three-putted from nearly the same distance as Kim's birdie attempt. Saigo, who missed the green long with her second shot but chipped it close to the hole, drained her birdie putt for her maiden LPGA title.
Kim was looking for her second career major title after the 2014 Evian Championship and her eighth LPGA win overall. She won the Ford Championship in a playoff over Lilia Vu in March this year.