LINCICOME LED BY TWO WITH TWO TO PLAY

INBEE PARK WINS FIFTH MAJOR AFTER

PLAY-OFF WITH BRITTANY LINCICOME

                                        Photo Credit: Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Inbee Park of South Korea celebrates with the trophy after winning the Wegmans LPGA Championship at Monroe Golf Club on Sunday at Pittsford, New York.

Inbee Park approached the 17th tee two back of the lead and needing to make something on two of the toughest holes on the course to put pressure on Brittany Lincicome, who led by two shots. 
As major champions tend to do, Park came through when it mattered most, draining a birdie on the 17th hole then coming through with a crucial 15-foot par putt on the final hole to push Lincicome into a playoff at 11-under-par. 
Again, with the pressure on, Park headed back to the 18th tee and made a par on the toughest hole on the course to not only defend her title but win in a playoff for the second straight time at this major championship.
“I think it’s very lucky that I actually got an opportunity today, because you know, I thought I probably won’t get an opportunity with Brittany coming up the last and if she made a par I would not have gone into play-off,” Park said. 
“And I holed really good putts on number 17 and 18 to put me in the playoffs. So yeah, just very happy the way I played today.” Park’s fifth major - and 11th tour victory - came as a bitter disappointment for Lincicome, who three-putted from about 35 feet just off the green. 
Her ball rested up against the collar and she left it about eight feet short, narrowly missing the par putt to send her into a play-off with Park. 
When both hit it just off the green on the first playoff hole, Park got up and down and Lincicome didn’t to garner Park’s second win of the season.
“Just need to learn how to control the nerves a little bit more. I was really, really nervous coming down the stretch, especially the 18th hole and then the playoff, that putt that I had, the first putt, and then the chip that I had I was shaking like a leaf, which it’s hard to do anything when you’re shaking,” said Lincicome.
Park had lost in the week prior at the LPGA Meijer Classic in a Playoff to Mirim Lee, and she was incredibly pleased that she was able to get back in the winner’s circle the final time the LPGA Championship will visit Rochester after 38 years in one of golf’s greatest cities.
“This is probably one of the favorite weeks that we - for me and probably for all the LPGA players to come and kind of stay for a week, and yeah, this tournament has the history, and this tournament has all the memories with us,” Park said. “So being able to put my name on this trophy twice and being able to do it here in Rochester is such a great honor, and yeah, we’ll be missing Rochester. We definitely want to come back here for another event.”
Lydia Ko, who started the day four back, made a charge at Park and Lincicome in regulation, climbing to within one of the lead heading to the 17th tee, but she bogeyed the final two holes to finish in solo third at 8-under-par. Azahara Munoz and Anna Nordqvist finished in a tie for 4th at 6-under-par.
CONFIDENCE BOOST IN DEFEAT
She relished the thrill of being in the hunt on Sunday but Brittany Lincicome admitted that the nerves got to her down the stretch. 
 She was one putt away from her sixth LPGA title and second major win but missed her eighth-foot par putt on the 18th hole in regulation. 
The tears flowed after Inbee Park pared the first hole in the sudden-death play-off to defeat Lincicome but she knows she has a lot of positives to take away from this week.
“Obviously they were tears of joy,” said Lincicome. “Finishing second in a major is always a good thing. I would have liked to have been the one holding the trophy on the 18th green right now, but feel like I played really, really well this week. Hopefully we can keep that going for the rest of the year. 
"I really feel like this will be the stepping stone that I kind of needed to push me to want to keep it going and to be in the Top 10 each week like I kind of was like three years ago.”
PETTERSEN’S ROUGH START
Suzann Pettersen was one back entering the final round and after a third-round 67, she had to be the favourite. She’d been there before and no one was hitting it better.
But it seemed to go all wrong from the opening tee ball, which she blasted right into the trees. The Norwegian would go on to make double and never rallied. 
She bogeyed three more holes on the front to go out in 41 and relinquish any chance she had at pushing the leaders. Her final-round 76 was the second worst final round in a major of her career and left her in a tie for 6th. “I got off to a terrible start. Took me about ten holes before I kind of got back into it. Just trying to save myself from a complete disaster,” said Pettersen.

PILLER’S BIG WIN
Gerina Piller was four back entering the day but shot a disappointing 75 to finish in a tie for 13th. However, she was far more nervous about her husband’s round. Her husband, Martin Piller, came through, firing a final round 64 to hold onto his lead and win the Web.com Tour’s News Sentinel Open, guaranteeing himself a US PGA Tour card for next season.
“It’s just awesome. I mean I could care less what I did today. I was just really wanting the best for him, and it just makes my heart smile,” she said.
Even if that means her prize money from this week is heading to a toy for her husband.
“Now I have to buy him a new truck, because I told him before the year, I said, if you win a tournament and you get back on the US PGA Tour, I’ll buy you a new truck,” she said.

CLOSE BUT NOT QUITE
The push by Lydia Ko to become golf’s youngest major champion in history was noteworthy, but ultimately the deficit proved too much, making bogeys on the final two holes to finish in solo third.
But there’s a lot of positives to take from the third-place finish for the world No. 2. It’s her best finish in a major this season – and second best of her career.
Needless to say, the confidence is high heading into the season’s final major when the Tour heads to the Evian Championship in September.
“This gives me a lot of confidence. You know, majors are where we try and perform our best, and to have a top-5 finish, I think that’s really good,” Ko said.

FINAL TOTALS AND PRIZEMONEY

T1	Inbee Park (WNR)	72-66-69-70	277	-11	$337,500
T1	Brittany Lincicome	67-68-71-71	277	-11	$207,791
3	Lydia Ko	70-69-71-70	280	-8	$150,737
T4	Azahara Munoz	71-70-71-70	282	-6	$105,231
T4	Anna Nordqvist	69-73-69-71	282	-6	$105,231
T6	Stacy Lewis	71-73-71-68	283	-5	$58,816
T6	Julieta Granada	75-65-72-71	283	-5	$58,816
T6	Shanshan Feng	68-72-71-72	283	-5	$58,816
T6	Mirim Lee	69-71-69-74	283	-5	$58,816
T6	Suzann Pettersen	71-69-67-76	283	-5	$58,816
T11	Jane Park	70-69-72-73	284	-4	$41,238
T11	Meena Lee	66-73-71-74	284	-4	$41,238
T13	So Yeon Ryu	73-71-72-69	285	-3	$34,129
T13	Jenny Shin	75-71-69-70	285	-3	$34,129
T13	Carlota Ciganda	73-73-67-72	285	-3	$34,129
T13	Gerina Piller	72-69-69-75	285	-3	$34,129
T17	Mo Martin	72-70-72-72	286	-2	$27,258
T17	Lisa McCloskey	67-75-72-72	286	-2	$27,258
T17	Cristie Kerr	68-74-71-73	286	-2	$27,258
T17	Caroline Masson	72-73-68-73	286	-2	$27,258
T17	Lexi Thompson	66-72-74-74	286	-2	$27,258
T22	Chella Choi	70-74-72-71	287	-1	$23,436
T22	Sydnee Michaels	74-69-73-71	287	-1	$23,436
T22	Sandra Gal	71-73-71-72	287	-1	$23,436
T25	Laura Davies	71-72-75-70	288	E	$20,136
T25	Na Yeon Choi	74-68-73-73	288	E	$20,136
T25	Laura Diaz	73-70-72-73	288	E	$20,136
T25	Danielle Kang	70-73-72-73	288	E	$20,136
T25	Karrie Webb	73-71-71-73	288	E	$20,136
T30	Catriona Matthew	69-76-75-69	289	+1	$15,862
T30	Juli Inkster	74-71-74-70	289	+1	$15,862
T30	Angela Stanford	69-75-74-71	289	+1	$15,862
T30	Jennifer Song	72-73-71-73	289	+1	$15,862
T30	Yani Tseng	70-75-71-73	289	+1	$15,862
T30	Eun-Hee Ji	69-73-73-74	289	+1	$15,862
T30	Tiffany Joh	70-72-70-77	289	+1	$15,862
T37	Karin Sjodin	73-73-74-70	290	+2	$12,855
T37	Sarah Kemp	71-72-74-73	290	+2	$12,855
T37	Lizette Salas	71-75-71-73	290	+2	$12,855
T40	Moriya Jutanugarn	71-74-75-71	291	+3	$10,324
T40	Xi Yu Lin	71-72-77-71	291	+3	$10,324
T40	Haeji Kang	72-73-73-73	291	+3	$10,324
T40	Sarah Jane Smith	73-71-74-73	291	+3	$10,324
T40	Jessica Korda	70-73-73-75	291	+3	$10,324
T40	Ilhee Lee	69-73-73-76	291	+3	$10,324
T40	Ashleigh Simon	74-72-68-77	291	+3	$10,324
T40	Beatriz Recari	70-70-72-79	291	+3	$10,324
T48	Katie M. Burnett	74-70-75-73	292	+4	$8,032
T48	Emma Jandel	69-75-74-74	292	+4	$8,032
T48	Candie Kung	74-72-72-74	292	+4	$8,032
T48	Haru Nomura	73-72-72-75	292	+4	$8,032
T48	Paula Reto	70-71-76-75	292	+4	$8,032
T53	Ayako Uehara	72-74-74-73	293	+5	$6,826
T53	Kristy McPherson	71-71-77-74	293	+5	$6,826
T53	Jennifer Kirby	67-79-71-76	293	+5	$6,826
T53	Pernilla Lindberg	73-73-70-77	293	+5	$6,826
T53	Brooke Pancake	69-76-70-78	293	+5	$6,826
T58	Becky Morgan	75-71-74-74	294	+6	$5,831
T58	Jaye Marie Green	73-73-73-75	294	+6	$5,831
T58	Jennifer Johnson	70-70-77-77	294	+6	$5,831
T58	Stacey Keating	72-74-70-78	294	+6	$5,831
T62	Jacqui Concolino	73-73-76-73	295	+7	$5,176
T62	Mi Jung Hur	71-75-76-73	295	+7	$5,176
T62	Erica Popson	73-73-75-74	295	+7	$5,176
T62	Jimin Kang	74-72-74-75	295	+7	$5,176
T62	Brittany Lang	70-75-73-77	295	+7	$5,176
T62	Kathleen Ekey	72-72-73-78	295	+7	$5,176
68	Katy Harris	72-74-76-75	297	+9	$4,777
T69	Mina Harigae	73-73-75-77	298	+10	$4,608
T69	Chie Arimura	71-75-73-79	298	+10	$4,608
71	Austin Ernst	71-75-75-78	299	+11	$4,495
72	Dewi Claire Schreefel	74-70-76-80	300	+12	$4,436
73	Thidapa Suwannapura	72-71-78-80	301	+13	$4,379