(12 February 2012 – Melbourne, Australia)
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American Jessica Korda won the ISPS Handa Women&aposs Australian Open in a six way playoff at Royal Melbourne Golf Club this afternoon.
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rnThe 18-year captured her first LPGA title after draining a 25 feet down hill putt on the second playoff hole to defeat fellow compatriots Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, South Korean pair of Hee Kyung Seo and So Yeon Ryu and Paragays Julieta Granada.
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rnShe completed one of world sport&aposs rarest doubles. And not even the bubbly 18-year-old could have imagined the extraordinary circumstance in which she would achieve the feat.
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rnShe had it. She let it go. But eventually Korda grabbed a remarkable piece of history at Royal Melbourne.
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rnKorda won a gripping Women&aposs Australian Open in a six-way playoff just 14 years after her father, Petr, won an Australian Open — in tennis — in the same city.
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rnThe American calmly rolled in the 25 feet curling birdie putt on the second playoff hole, ending a day of drama and the dreams of the five women with whom she&aposd made LPGA Tour history.
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rnIt was only the second time so many players had been in a playoff at world golf&aposs elite level, the last at the Jamie Farr Classic in 1999 when Se Ri Pak triumphed.
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rnLess than a minute after her triumph, Korda spoke to her family in Florida, where her father was overjoyed as she became the sixth youngest winner of an LPGA event at 18 years, 11 months and six days.
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rn"I&aposm overwhelmed. I got to speak to everybody but my brother who was sleeping," Korda beamed.
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rn"My father said he was so proud of me, but he wanted to talk later about the three-putts."
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rnHis jibe came after Korda twice appeared to have the trophy in her grasp with three early birdies.
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rnA double-bogey on the 9th was followed by a bogey on the 10th.
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rnThen, after a fist-pumping birdie on 11, three more bogeys in succession on holes 14-16 took her from outright lead to two shots in arrears and seemingly gone.
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rnBut a quirky personal trait kicked in on the lengthy path to the 17th tee — Korda went for what she said was a "calming" run.
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rn"I was kind of upset (and) needed to throw off some steam," she said.
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rn"When I need to clear my head, I go for a run. The way I throw off steam is I go for a run. It pumps me up (and) calms me down. I was running around the parking lot this morning doing ciricles around the cars."
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rnShe settled with a birdie on the 17th to close to within one Hee Kyung Seo and So Yeon Ryu, then watched in disbelief as the Koreans both made bogey on the closing hole to set up the six-way shootout.
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rnOn the second time up the 18th, Korda finally broke the deadlock.
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rn"I was thinking really clearly and I had one song stuck in my head throughout the playoff — Taylor Swift&aposs "Enchanted".
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rn"I was really calm. I knew what the putt did … all I had to do was hit it.
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rn"It started breaking and I thought, Oh my goodness don&apost lip out, don&apost break too early, but it went in perfectly."
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rnKorda repeated her father&aposs famous scissor kick in the presentation ceremony, reinforcing the city&aposs meaning to her family.
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rn"Dad and I spoke on Monday and he said Melbourne had been good to him.
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rn"When I was walking around here and you have that (Melbourne) sign on pretty much every green, it always made me smile because it just reminds me of the good times.
rn"I love watching Melbourne tennis, I watch it all the time. It&aposs just a really special place for my family.
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rn"So for my first win, I honestly couldn&apost have thought of a better place."
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rnThe win is projected to move Korda from 285 to 30 in the world rankings.
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rnSouth Korean Jenny Shin finished outright seventh at two-under par, while defending champion Yani Tseng and American Katie Futcher were the only other players to finish in red numbers.
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rnUnfortunately for local hope Nikki Campbell, she could get any forward momentum going and ended up sharing the leading Australian with Sarah Kemp. They both finished at one-over par and tied for 12th position.