Nelly Korda sank a downhill putt for birdie on the first play-off hole to defeat Ryann O'Toole and win the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship on Sunday in Palos Verdes Estates, California, while Ireland's Leona Maguire finished five shots off the lead in a tie for 13th.
Korda, 25, won her second tournament of the season and the 10th of her budding career. She is projected to move to the No. 1 spot in both the world rankings and the Race for the CME Globe.
"I fought really hard the last three days," Korda said on the Golf Channel broadcast.
"The weekend was brutal. (Sunday) was tough. That's the beauty of the game. It's fun to play in these conditions and be a little bit more artistic out here."
Korda began the day two strokes behind the leaders and shot an eventful two-under 69 at Palos Verdes Golf Club to finish nine-under for the week.
O'Toole fired a 66 to reach nine under first and likely thought she was done for the day after Korda eagled the par-5 14th hole to jump to 11 under for the tournament.
But Korda's bogey-birdie-bogey-bogey finish made a play-off necessary.
Korda's first victory of the year, at the LPGA Drive On Championship - a tournament won by Maguire in 2022 - also required a play-off to beat New Zealand's Lydia Ko.
"I'm aging myself really quickly out here," Korda said.
The players returned to the par-4 18th hole, and both reached the green in two. O'Toole was slightly farther away and saw her putt kiss the lip of the cup as it rolled by. Korda followed with her winning stroke.
"I can't be more proud to be in this position," O'Toole said. "You know, that was actually my first play-off ever, so I really enjoyed it. At least I gave it my best attempt. That putting could have gone either way."
O'Toole said she didn't realize a play-off could be in the cards until Korda's approach at the 18th hole in regulation sailed over the green.
"So I just was like, 'OK, I think it's time to go warm up,'" O'Toole said. "We had those putts earlier, like she's kind of been down here already, so she's a little familiar with below the hole. But I just stayed patient and hit a solid shot in there, gave it a solid putt, maybe two inches further and it would've gone in."
Alison Lee (72) and Australian Gabriela Ruffels (70) tied for third, one back from the play-off duo at eight under. South Korea's Jiyai Shin, who shared the 54-hole lead with Alison Lee, struggled to a final-round 73 and tied for fifth at seven under with Andrea Lee (68) and Thailand's Jasmine Suwannapura (70).
Meanwhile, Maguire rounded off her tournament with a one-over 72 as the Cavan native struggled on the front nine with bogeys on four and six before a birdie on 15.
