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Ko shot 67 for a 19-under-par 269 total on the Aviara course
in Carlsbad, for her 11th LPGA victory.
The New Zealand teenager seemed to be cruising when a putt from
off the green at the 10th hole led to a double-hit that could
have put her off her game.
As she struck the ball, it popped almost straight up and hit the
shaft of her putter, near the top of the hosel, before trickling
forward onto the green.
Ko took the mandatory one-stroke penalty and bogeyed the hole.
But unfazed, she made five straight pars and then after South
Korean Park, who was playing a few groups ahead, pulled to
within a shot with a birdie at 17, Ko concluded with three
birdies in a row.
"I started off real well and gave myself opportunities on one,
two, three and four,” the 18-year-old Ko told Golf Channel.
"I was able to make birdies on one and two. I peaked at the
leaderboard and saw that In-bee was making a lot of birdies.
In-bee was doing was In-bee things. I knew I needed to focus
until the last moment. Fortunately, I made some birdies down the
stretch."
Ko will seek her second major title at the ANA Inspiration,
which begins on Thursday, to go with the Evian Championship she
won last summer.
"Who knows what is going to happen tomorrow, but I’m confident
right now," she said.
(Reporting by Tim Wharnsby in Toronto; Editing by Andrew Both)
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