Yoo triumphs in playoff

2 April 2012 04:51

Yoo Sun-Young has clinched the Kraft Nabisco Championship after a playoff win against South Korean countrywoman IK Kim on Sunday.

Both finished at nine-under at the Mission Hills Country Club in California, with Yoo, who earned her second LPGA Tour title, holing an 18-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win her first Major title.

Kim had earlier missed a regulation one-foot putt on the same green - the 18th - that would have won her the tournament.

The 23-year-old struck her putt poorly, and it went around the lip of the cup before coming out the same side it entered for what was an unbelievable miss.

Yoo and Kim both carded three-under 69s to set up the playoff after overnight co-leaders Karin Sjodin and world number one Yani Tseng struggled in the final round.

Tseng, who was eyeing her sixth Major title, started slowly and finished with a one-over 73, finishing third at eight-under.

Sjodin made a flying start with an eagle on the second hole, but five bogeys - and a birdie - saw her to a two-over round of 74 and a share of fourth.

Alongside her were American Stacy Lewis, the defending champion, and South Korean pair Amy Yang and Seo Hee Kyung.

The rollercoaster final round saw five players hold the lead, with Kim the most consistent until her first bogey of the day came on the crucial par-five 18th.

Tseng could have joined the playoff, but pushed a tough birdie putt wide by an inch.