Ko wins Canadian Pacific Open

World No 5 So Yeon Ryu is one shot back, after a storming eight-under through 17 holes, with world No 3 Stacy Lewis of the US a greater danger on the same score, as she has five holes to play.

Lewis, who had started the day at 7 under and shot a 5-under 67 to force the playoff, looked shocked when her ball didn’t drop.

Ko will earn US$337,500 for the win at Vancouver Golf Club – her third on the LPGA Tour this season.

Ko pumped her fist after dropping her winning putt to finish at 12 under. She was even for the front nine, and 12-under for the tournament. On No. 18 she faced a 40-foot putt for birdie and came up less than two inches short. That changed when she won the Cambia Portland Classic, making her the youngest Canadian to win an LPGA or PGA event. That made her the youngest person to ever win an LPGA event. The New Zealander successfully defended her title in 2013, also as an amateur, in Edmonton, Alberta. Despite starting the day in 50th position, Brooke once again had a large crowd following her from start to finish around the Coquitlam course.

Kung, 34, turned pro in 2001, when Ko was four years old, and won three times on the LPGA Tour in 2003.

“It was a really fun day out there today”, Henderson said.

“I wanted to show and give the crowd a little bit of excitement”, she said. Her four birdies on the back nine included one on the par 4 14th hole, where the tees had been moved up to play about 300 yards. “We’ve had a lot of loud cheers, a lot of big crowds all week, including for me when I was playing earlier in the week”, said Brittany, 24, an accomplished player herself who was five-over par the first two days and didn’t make the weekend cut. “I think today I did that”.

She was the frontrunner for most of the third round and could have had sole possession of the lead heading into Sunday’s final round, but a bobble at 18 snapped her string of 46 holes without a bogey.

“I knew I was capable of it. The other couple of days I was hitting the ball not too bad, but just wasn’t making any putts”.

Maude-Aimee Leblanc, of Sherbrooke, Que., carded an 80 to finish 12 over.