MIAMI — South Korea’s Jang Ha-na birdied two of the last three holes Saturday to capture her first LPGA title, holding off teen stars Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson to win the Coates Championship.
Jang, who made the LPGA’s first hole-in-one albatross last week in the Bahamas, made her breakthrough at the same Golden Ocala (Florida) Golf and Equestrian Club layout where she had one of her four runner-up finishes last year.
“It feels like a very long wait but it’s really nice,” Jang said. “It’s amazing how I feel right now.”
Jang sank a four-foot birdie putt at the 16th hole to seize the lead for good and broke down in tears on the 18th green after sinking a six-foot birdie putt to seal the triumph.
“(I’m) really comfortable on this golf course,” Jang said. “Last year gave me more confidence. Very comfortable this week.”
Jang fired a final-round par 72 to finish 72 holes on 11-under 277, two strokes ahead of Canada’s Henderson and three in front of world No. 1 Ko of New Zealand and South Koreans Kim Sei-young and Chun In-gee.
Henderson, 18, also fired a 72 but stumbled down the stretch with bogeys at 14 and 17 after having grabbed a share of the lead.
Ko and Jang each played 30 holes on Saturday after having to finish the final 12 holes of their third rounds in the morning.
Lee seizes three-shot lead
New Zealand’s Danny Lee nabbed six birdies in a four-under par 67 Saturday to build a three-stroke lead in the US PGA Tour’s $6.5 million Phoenix Open.
Lee, seeking to add a second US tour title to the Greenbrier Classic trophy he captured last year, had a 13-under par total of 200 at TPC Scottsdale, where the PGA Tour said the crowd of 201,003 set a record for single day attendance on the PGA Tour.
“Two-hundred thousand?” Lee said. “Wow.”
It was “unfortunate” Lee added, that so many of them were cheering for his playing partner Rickie Fowler, the world No. 4 who finished the day tied for second on 203 with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.
Matsuyama thrust himself into contention with a three-under par 68. His five birdies included a chip-in at the 14th.
His last birdie of the day, at the par-five 15th, moved him to 10-under for the tournament, which is where Fowler also finished up after a one-under par 70.
It was a further stroke back to Bryce Molder and Boo Weekley on 204. Molder climbed the leaderboard with a 64 while Weekley fired a 65.
Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, a three-time champion in Phoenix, also carded a 65 for 205.
Lee, a 25-year-old who was born in South Korea but moved to New Zealand as a youngster, started the day sharing second with Fowler, one shot behind Korean-American James Hahn.
He got off to a hot start with birdies at the second, third and fourth. He drained a 40-foot birdie putt at eight. His first bogey of the day at the 11th saw him fall back into a tie for the lead with Hahn.
Hahn’s challenge came unstuck with his bogey at 12, followed by back-to-back double-bogeys at 13 and 14. He finished with a 74.
Fowler had four birdies and three bogeys, parring his last five holes. — Agencies
