Kim Hyo-joo finishes runner-up at LPGA major after playoff

- 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, on Sunday (local time), as Mao Saigo of Japan emerged victorious with a birdie on the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th.

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.

Kim started the final round at five-under, four shots behind two co-leaders, Saigo and Ryu Hae-ran of South Korea. After a bogey at the par-3 third, Kim made three consecutive birdies from No. 6 to No. 8 to jump into contention.

As leaders kept falling back, Kim held steady by saving pars on difficult holes on the back nine, though she nearly holed out for birdie from off the green on the par-5 13th.

Kim set up a decent birdie opportunity on the par-5 18th but pulled her putt to settle for her 10th consecutive par and the clubhouse lead at seven-under.

Playing two groups ahead, Jutanugarn stood on the 18th tee at eight-under and appeared to give herself a chance for a decisive birdie after sending her second shot into the rough back of the green.

But the Thai star fluffed her ensuing chip and couldn’t get the ball out of the deep stuff. Her fourth shot rolled way past the cup, and she missed the comebacker to settle for a bogey that dropped her into a tie with Kim.

Yin birdied that hole to join Kim and Jutanugarn at seven-under. Then in the last group, Duncan and Saigo both made birdies on the 18th hole to set up the five-player playoff.

Duncan made bogey there, while Yin and Jutanugarn both had their birdie putts lip out to set the stage for Saigo’s dramatic win.

Kim revealed afterward she played through “skin allergies” all week.

“That was the hardest part,” Kim said of her condition. “In the current condition I’m in, I really did my best and I think I played well. It was a little disappointing but satisfactory performance.”

With the runner-up showing at the Chevron, Kim moved to second place in the Player of the Year standings with 59 points, nine behind Saigo. Kim leads all players in the Race to CME Globe points with 1,013.125 points, nearly 35 points ahead of Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand. In eight tournaments this year, Kim has a win and four top-10s overall.

“I just want to keep having a good pulse on things,” she said. “And since there’s a lot of tournaments left and the season is long, I want to keep playing well until the end and be on top.”

Among other South Koreans, Ryu chipped in for an eagle on the 18th to finish tied for sixth at five-under 283. This was the second straight Chevron Championship in which Ryu blew a 54-hole lead.

“I had a long day. This is a nice way to finish,” Ryu said of her closing eagle. “Today, my shot was terrible and my putting was also bad. I think this has been a challenging year for me. This was my first top-10 finish of the year. I have a lot of tournaments this year. I will just think about good things from this week.”

Ko Jin-young also finished at five-under, and Choi Hye-jin tied for ninth at four-under.

“It was a long week for me, but overall, I played solid,” said Ko, the top South Korean in the world rankings entering this tournament at No. 11. “I finished well, and so I’m very happy to finish in the top 10. I realized this week why majors are so tough and I learned so many things from this week.”

Specifically, Ko said she would like to improve her shots from about 100 yards and in.

“I think I need to practice more. Could be better, I hope,” she added. “We’ll see at the U.S. Women’s Open (the next major championship scheduled for May 29-June 1).”