Austrian Hirscher won by an emphatic 1.57 seconds from compatriot Manuel Feller as he clocked up his 55th World Cup race win and overhauled Hermann Maier's tally of 54. Only Swede
Ingemar Stenmark, with 86, has won more World Cup races.
Hirscher is expected to win at least one Olympic gold medal in Pyeongchang, something which has so far eluded the 28-year-old despite winning a record six overall World Cups in a row.
It was his 10th World Cup win over the season, with seven of those in the slalom.
Ligety, who was third, is only making his way back into form following knee surgery in 2016 and back surgery last year that sidelined him.
The 33-year-old, who has won two Olympic golds, last finished on the podium in Beaver Creek in December 2015 when he was second in the Super G.
Hirscher leads the overall standings with 1254 points, 224 clear of Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen with Aksel Lund Svindal in third.
(Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
