LPGA HanaBank Championship Final Round Shootout

By Elizabeth Bethel | Oct 19, 2014

Kyu-Jung Baek of South Korea lifts the winners trophy during a ceremony following the KEB Hana Bank Championship at Sky 72 Golf Course in Incheon, South Korea. Photo credit: www.lpga.com

The LPGA HanaBank Championship was a tight contest from start to finish, with a compacted, top-heavy leaderboard that culminated in a four-way tie at the top of the board going into the back nine in the 4th round and an edge-of-the-seat, three-way playoff that must have felt like deja vu to Brittany Lincicome.

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Going into the HanaBank Championship four days ago I was pondering three questions that seemed inconsequential as the leaders made the turn on the 4th round: Would Inbee Park prevail and unseat Stacy Lewis from the top of the Rolex Rankings? Were Michelle Wie and Mo Martin healthy and ready to return to competition? Could Shanshan Feng sustain her momentum from the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia and make it two-in-a-row in South Korea?

Michelle Wie

During the early rounds I watched with dismay as Paula Creamer plummeted to the bottom of the leaderboard and went into the weekend twelve shots over par. Lexi Thompson and Mo Martin didn’t do much better and Michelle Wie, who got off to a slow start, didn’t start delivering her A game until the 3rd round. At that point she trailed badly, but by the final round Wie’s sticks were working and her T5th finish got me looking forward again.

The Decisive Holes

KLPGA Tour member Kyu Jung Baek made her very first appearance in an LPGA Tour event this week at the HanaBank Championship and she made it a memorable one.

Playing alongside Rolex Rankings No. 2 Inbee Park and KLPGA Tour member Hee-Kyung Bae, 19-year old Baek started the 4th round with a share of the lead but fell back after playing the first 10 holes even-par. When she made the turn, her original goal for the week of finishing in the top-10 turned to finishing in the top-5. She knew some back-nine magic needed to happen and she went to work, firing five consecutive birdies on 11-15 to put herself back in contention.

Baek’s fifth birdie of the streak came on the 15th hole, getting her back a share of the lead, this time with In Gee Chun who was playing one group in front of her.

Lincicome, who was playing three groups ahead of Baek, walked to the 18th tee box one shot back at 9-under par. She sank an eight-foot birdie putt to get to 10-under with the Korean duo and waited 15 minutes and watched the final groups come in. Did it feel like a replay of the Wegman’s LPGA Championship for Lincicome?

Baek had a golden opportunity on the 18th hole to win the tournament outright but missed a 10-foot birdie putt to stay at 10-under.

Brittany Lincicome

After regrouping, Baek, Lincicome, and Chun headed to the par-5 18th tee box to start the playoff. All three players laid up on the par 5 but Chun hit her third shot in the greenside water and was essentially out of the contest. Lincicome and Baek both hit their shots to about four feet. Lincicome had the honor and left her putt on the lip of the right side of the hole setting Baek up for her winning chance.

"It was a very tricky putt. It broke both ways. [I] couldn’t be aggressive with it, it was downhill. -Brittany Lincicome"

Baek had a similar putt to win. She’d faced the problem before, at the KLPGA Championship, so she focused, fired, and made the putt.

With her victory, Baek is projected to move from No. 33 to No. 13 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. She became the second KLPGA member to earn an LPGA Tour win this year, joining Evian Championship winner Hyo Joo Kim in that rarefied circle of LPGA Tour champions.

Back To China

The Tour goes back to China for the 4th of its 6-event fall Asian Swing, the inaugural edition of the Blue Bay LPGA at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course on Hainan Island. Stacy Lewis and Inbee Park are taking the week off. Lydia Ko will be the highest ranked player in a field that includes Michelle Wie, Brittany Lincicome, and Mo Martin, battling for a share of the $2 million purse and some of those coveted Race to the CME Globe points.

"So happy to be back in tournament mode! Michelle Wie Tweet"

My colleagues and I at ProGolfNow will provide ongoing updates and news on the Blue Bay LPGA as well as other women’s pro golf events and activities Follow me on Twitter @bethbethel and Annette Walker @TinkWalker and we’ll notify you as we publish commentary.