Inbee Park wins LPGA Championship

Inbee Park is set climb to world No.2 after defeating Brittany Lincicombe in a playoff to win the LPGA Championship.

South Korean golfer Inbee Park

South Korean Inbee Park (pic) has won the LPGA Championship title by beating Brittany Lincicome. (AAP)

Inbee Park is set to climb back to No.2 in the world after successfully defending her LPGA Championship crown with a playoff victory over American Brittany Lincicombe.

The former No.1 claimed her fifth major title - and fourth in the past two seasons - with a routine par on the first extra hole.

South Korean Park had shot a two-under-par 70 to match Lincicombe (71) and at 11-under 276 on a bittersweet day as the LPGA Tour bade farewell to Rochester after 38 years.

Next year, the tour will team with the PGA of America to run the Women's PGA Championship. The 2015 event will be played at Westchester Country Club near New York City.

Park joins Nancy Lopez and Patty Sheehan as the only players to win twice in a row in Rochester.

"Just very happy to be part of history," Park said.

Having also won last year's LPGA Championship in a playoff helped Park.

"Once I got to the tee on the playoff hole, I just felt the nerves right away," she said.

"It was like a replay of last year and experience definitely helped me out. I think I was able to stay calm."

Lincicombe bogeyed the last hole of regulation to fall into the playoff and repeated the dose in the playoff as she chipped six feet past the hole and missed her par putt.

Her defeat ended a streak after Americans won the first three majors of the LPGA Tour season for the first time since 1999. Lexi Thompson began the run at Kraft Nabisco, Michelle Wie won the U.S. Women's Open and Mo Martin the Women's British Open.

Park's win will take her past 17-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand to No.2 in the rankings.

Ko, trying to become the youngest major winner in LPGA history, shot a 70 to finish third at eight under.

Spain's Azahara Munoz (70) and Sweden's Anna Nordqvist (71) tied for fourth at six under.


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