Nelly Korda got up and down for birdie on the par-5 18th hole and staved off Ireland's Leona Maguire to win the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
Korda shot a 5-under 67 for her final round to finish the event 25 under, two shots ahead of Maguire (66 on Sunday). In Gee Chun of South Korea (63) and Brittany Altomare (64) tied for third at 21 under.
Playing together in the final grouping, Korda and Maguire dueled throughout the day at Blythefield Country Club. Maguire caught up to Korda to tie for the lead with four birdies on her front nine.
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Korda sank an eagle on par-5 No. 14 and birdied the following hole to build a three-shot advantage. But on No. 16, Maguire birdied and Korda bogeyed to cut that lead to one.
After both players made par at No. 17, Korda's second shot at No. 18 found thick rough short of the green. But Korda stuck her third shot close to the hole and made birdie, while Maguire three-putted for par.
"Leona's a really good player. Honestly, she kept me on my toes all day," Korda said on the broadcast. "I had to play good golf. There's a lot of birdie opportunities out here. I started off a little rough, not hitting many fairways, but kept telling myself to battle through it and just to have fun out here."
Korda fired a 10-under 62, the low round of the event, on Saturday to grab the 54-hole lead.
It was Korda's fifth victory on tour and her second of the season - the first multi-winner on tour this season - after a win at the Gainbridge LPGA in February. She was projected to move into No. 1 in the tour's season-long points competition, the Race to the CME Globe.
Maguire fell short of winning her first LPGA Tour title. It was her second time placing second this season.
Sweden's Anna Nordqvist finished fifth at 20 under. Ally Ewing, Lauren Stephenson, Lizette Salas, and England's Georgia Hall tied for sixth at 18 under.
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