THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — Mao Saigo of Japan won the Chevron Championship on Sunday for her first major title, making a 3-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a five-way playoff.
Saigo, 23, birdied the par-5 18th in regulation for a 2-under 74, leaving her tied with Hyo Joo Kim, Ruoning Yin, Ariya Jutanugarn and Lindy Duncan. They finished at 7-under 281 at The Club at Carlton Woods.
Saigo won on the 18th in the playoff after Yin and Jutanugarn had birdie tries lip out. Jutanugarn bogeyed the 18th in regulation after stubbing her third short only inches.
Saigo won for the first time on the LPGA Tour. She was the tour’s rookie of the year last season. The 23-year-old player is the first Japanese winner in the event and the fifth major champion. She has six victories on the Japanese tour, five in 2022.
The 34-year-old Duncan bogeyed the playoff hole to come up short in her more than a decade-long quest to win her first title.
It’s the second time in three years that the tournament ended in a playoff after American Lilia Vu…
