LPGA Tour Championship
NAPLES, Fla. — New Zealand teenager Lydia Ko ended a big year on the LPGA Tour with the largest payoff in women’s golf.
Ko won the $1 million bonus from the “Race to CME Globe” on Sunday even before she began a three-way playoff. The 17-year-old added $500,000 when she defeated Carlota Ciganda of Spain on the fourth extra hole at Tiburon Golf Club.
Her clothes drenched with champagne, she sat next to a pair of crystal trophies, with a glass case at her feet stuffed with cash to symbolize the $1 million bonus. Ko had posed with the cash case at the start of the week. She never thought about the money until it was hers.
“When I saw that $1 million in the box I was like, “Wow, I wonder who the winner of that will be?’” she said. “I’ve never see that much cash in one place before.”
Ciganda missed a 3-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole in regulation that would have given her the lead. She missed a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 18 on the third playoff hole. On her next try, she pulled her approach into a hazard and made bogey.
Ko played the 18th hole five times on Sunday and made par each time. The last par was worth $1.5 million.
LPGA Tour awards
NAPLES, Fla. — Stacy Lewis is the first American in 21 years to sweep the three biggest awards on the LPGA Tour.
Lewis closed with a 1-under 71 in the CME Group Tour Championship on Sunday. That was enough for her to win the points-based LPGA Tour player of the year award for the second time in three years. Lewis also won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average and the LPGA Tour money title.
Inbee Park was the only player who could have kept Lewis from sweeping the awards. Park trailed in all three races. She never got it going at Tiburon Golf Club and finished four shots worse than Lewis.
The last American to sweep the LPGA Tour awards was Betsy King in 1993.
World Tour Championship
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Henrik Stenson has successfully defended his DP World Tour Championship title at the European Tour’s season-ending event.
The Swede shot a final round 2-under 70 on Sunday to win by two strokes with an overall 16-under 272 on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Three of Stenson’s teammates on Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team — top-ranked Rory McIlroy (68), Victor Dubuisson (68) and Justin Rose (69) — shared second on 14-under 274.
The victory means Stenson finishes second to McIlroy in the Race to Dubai.
Rafa Cabrera-Bello (75) was leading with three holes to play but the Spaniard tumbled down the board with back-to-back double bogeys at Nos. 16 and 17 to finish tied for ninth with an overall 277.
Callaway Invitational
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Tommy Armour III made a 4-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole for a one-shot victory over Lee Janzen on Sunday at the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational.
Armour III, who won the event for the third time in its 43-year history, had a final-round 67 for a 14-under 274. He began the final round trailing Janzen, the two-time U.S. Open champion, by two shots.
The co-leader after three rounds with Andrew Putnam, Janzen finished with a 69.
Armour III made a 17-foot putt on the 18th hole of regulation to match Janzen at 14 under. Janzen had just made a 30-foot birdie from the front fringe.
The Associated Press