• LPGA Tour Championship

Teenager Ko claims million-dollar LPGA haul

The win marked Lydia Ko's fifth LPGA Tour title © Getty Images

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New Zealand teenager Lydia Ko was an instant millionaire ahead of a three-way play-off on Sunday, before going on to win the LPGA Tour Championship.

Ko put in a flawless display with a four-under 68, allowing her to capture the inaugural LPGA order of merit - the Race to the Globe - and its $1 million (£640,000) bonus.

The 17-year-old won the Tour Championship with a par on the fourth play-off hole, fending off the challenge from Spain's Carlota Ciganda and Julieta Granada of Paraguay.

Lewis: I got what I came for

• Stacy Lewis became the first American in 21 years to sweep the three most significant awards on the LPGA Tour - player of the year, the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average and the money title.
• Lewis finished tied ninth at the Tour Championships but was full of praise for winner Lydia Ko.
• "The million would have been nice," Lewis said. "But those three, that's what I came here for.
• "She's a great player. She's got that innocence about her that she doesn't even realise what's going on. She probably has no idea how the scenarios and points work out. Maybe it's to her advantage."

Ko, who just one year ago made $16,063 in her pro debut at Tiburon Golf Club, admitted she never expected to walk away with first prize at the Tour Championship.

"When I saw that $1 million in the box I was like, 'Wow, I wonder who the winner of that will be?'" Ko said. "I've never see that much cash in one place before.

"This year has been awesome."

She has won three times this year, and her earnings from the Tour Championship made her the first player to go over $2 million (£1.2m) as a rookie.

She needed some help from Ciganda and Granada in the play-off, which was held on the 425-yard 18th hole, which yielded only four birdies in the final round.

Granada, who closed with a one-under 71, was the first to be eliminated on the second playoff hole when she three-putted from just off the 18th green.

The longest hitter of the three women in the playoff, Ciganda reached the par-five 17th in two shots and three-putted for par, missing a three-foot birdie putt that would have given her the lead with one hole to play in regulation. On the third playoff hole, she missed a 5-foot birdie putt for the win.

It marked Ko's fifth LPGA Tour title before her 18th birthday, winning her first two LPGA titles as an amateur.

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