The Chevron Championship reserved all the drama until its final moments.
Mao Saigo, a 23-year-old from Japan, emerged from a five-woman playoff — the largest in LPGA major championship history — to win not only her first major but also her first LPGA tournament.
It seemed very unlikely that Saigo, the 2024 LPGA Rookie of the Year, would have a chance to win when she had two holes to play; Ariya Jutanugarn had a one-shot lead on the par-5 18th and was playing her third shot out of the rough above the green. A quick chipping motion resulted in her striking the ball and barely moving it, maybe an inch. Jutanugarn remained over the ball and quickly hit again, but the original swing counted as a stroke. She missed a 15-foot par putt, dropped to 7 under and created the playoff. Hyo Joo Kim was already at 7 under, and Ruoning Yin made it a three-woman playoff shortly thereafter.
It turned chaotic when the final group reached No. 18, with Lindy Duncan and Saigo making birdie on the hole to get into the playoff party.
All five went back to the No. 18 tee box to replay the hole, and this time it looked like Yin would emerge as the winner. She was 205 yards out with her second shot and struck a hybrid so well that it one-hopped onto the green — the only of the five to make the green…
