Lydia Ko defends Swinging Skirts LPGA in playoff over Pressel

Lydia Ko gave herself a great birthday present: a successful title defense.

Ko won the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic for the second consecutive year on Sunday, making a birdie on the second playoff hole to defeat a game Morgan Pressel and win her seventh LPGA Tour title.

Both players finished regulation at 8-under 280, with Ko shooting 70 and Pressel firing 72 to send the tournament to overtime. Ko made a birdie on the par-5 closing hole to set the water mark, with Pressel missing a birdie bid to end the tournament.

The playoff format called for the players to continue playing the 18th until there was a winner. Ko and Pressel made par on the first go-round. The second time, Pressel stuck her third shot to 10 feet, while Ko was closer to 5 feet. When Pressel couldn’t make her birdie putt, Ko cashed in to lock up the victory.

Brooke Henderson, the 17-year-old former world No. 1 amateur, faltered to 74 on Sunday to finish tied for third.

It wasn’t a bad week for Ko, who turned 18 on Friday. This is her second LPGA win of the year and it marks the second time in her career she has successfully defended a title, following her back-to-back wins in the Canadian Women’s Open as an amateur.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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