Golf: Park In-Bee wins WPGA Championship to return to number one
Park In-Bee won the Women's PGA Championship for the third year in a row on Sunday.
HARRISON (AFP) - South Korean Park In-Bee won the Women s PGA Championship for the third year in a row on Sunday to return to number one in the world in dominant style.
Park finished with a five-under-par 68 for an impressive 19-under total of 273 and a five-shot victory over compatriot Kim Sei-Young.
Park joined Swedish great Annika Sorenstam as the only players to win three successive editions of the major, which was formerly known as the LPGA Championship and was rebranded this year in a collaboration between the LPGA and the PGA of America.
And the 26-year-old did it in commanding fashion, rolling in her fifth birdie of the final round at the 18th hole.
"I don t know what word can describe how I feel right now," said Park, whose 19-under total matched the lowest score in relation to par in the tournament s history, achieved previously by Cristie Kerr in 2010 and Taiwan s Yani Tseng in 2011.
"I m so thrilled and so honored to be in this position," Park said. "I do things that I can t even believe."
Kim, who started the day two strokes behind Park, tried to keep the pressure on, but a string of four birdies in a row ended with a double-bogey at the par-five ninth that proved too much to overcome.
The rookie -- who shocked Park in a playoff at the Lotte Championship this season -- finished with a two-under 71 on the par-73 Westchester Country Club s West course for 278.
American Lexi Thompson, who nabbed eight birdies in her first 13 holes, finished in third on 280 after a seven-under 66.
With her sixth major title, Park is assured of returning to number one in the world.
She ll supplant 18-year-old New Zealander Lydia Ko, whose missed cut on Friday was a first in her precocious pro career.
