Amy Yang captures first American LPGA title, wins $2 million،
NAPLES, Fla. — Amy Yang chose a lucrative time to win her first LPGA title on American soil.
Yang birdied her final two holes for a score of 6-under 66 to win the CME Group Championship and take home the $2 million prize, tying the largest in women’s golf.
This is her fifth victory on the LPGA Tour, the previous four having taken place in Asia.
Yang holed out for eagle on the 13th fairway to overcome an early 3-shot deficit, then she let Nasa Hataoka make mistakes in crucial moments down the stretch.
Yang finished with a bang, sinking a 10-foot birdie putt. The 34-year-old South Korean dropped her putter and put both hands to her face as a half-dozen players rushed the green and drenched her with so many bubbles that she wrapped a towel on his shoulders before signing. map.
Hataoka finished with a 69 and Alison Lee had a 66 to finish tied for second. Lee was never within 2 shots along the back nine at Tiburon Golf Club. Lee, still winless on the LPGA Tour, closed out her season with three second-place finishes on the LPGA Tour and a victory in Saudi Arabia on the Ladies European Tour.
Yang trailed by 3 shots through six holes in the final round when she got back into the mix with three birdies over a four-hole stretch. The pivot shot was drilling his approach on the par-4 13th, the ball landing near the pin then returning about 6 feet into the cup.
Hataoka responded with a 10-foot birdie putt, and they were tied for the final three holes.
That’s when Hataoka, a 24-year-old Japanese man, blinked for the first time. His birdie putt from the fringe traveled about 6 feet near the hole, and the par putt caught the lip. That ended 35 straight bogey-free holes and left him one shot behind.
At the par-5 17th, Hataoka missed left on a steep ridge, with the pin cut to the left. She hit her chip to 8 feet and missed the opportunity for a birdie. Yang, who was also left but small enough to hit high ground, nearly holed it and made a 3-foot birdie putt that gave her a 2-shot lead through the 18th.
She never looked anything but calm, carving the soft fairway and not even looking at the full flight of her approach that went as far as 10 feet below the hole.
Lee made four birdies over his final eight holes.
Lilia Vu, a two-time major champion this year and No. 1 in the women’s world rankings, closed with a 65 to finish alone in fourth and won her own prize. She won the LPGA Player of the Year title based on points for the first time.
The 60 players who qualified for the season finale only had to win to become the Race to CME Globe champion.
