ROGERS, Arkansas — World No. 1 Park In-Bee birdied the first playoff hole to defeat fellow South Korean Ryu So-Yeon and win the LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship for her fifth triumph of the season. Park, who has captured the first two women's major titles this year, took the $300,000 top prize from the $2 million event and a confidence boost from winning the 54-hole tuneup for next week's third major, the US Women's Open. Park won major titles at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April and the LPGA Championship earlier this month, defeating Britain's Catriona Matthew on the third playoff hole to collect her second major crown of the year. “It's never getting easier,” Park said. “I've had playoffs the last couple weeks. It was really tough.” Park's other LPGA titles came in Thailand and the North Texas Shootout. In all she has won five of 14 tour stops so far this year. If the 24-year-old from Seoul, who won the 2008 US Women's Open, wins next week's edition of the Open, she will match Babe Zaharias from 1950 by taking the first three major titles in a season. Park and Ryu, the 2011 US Women's Open champion who sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the 18th to force the playoff, each finished the 54 holes of regulation play on 12-under 201 and went back to the 18th tee to begin the playoff. Japan's Mika Miyazato was third on 202 with New Zealand amateur Lydia Ko, the reigning US Amateur champion, South Korea's I.K. Kim and American Stacy Lewis sharing fourth on 203. Norway's Suzann Pettersen, American Paula Creamer, Japan's Chie Arimura and Spain's Beatriz Recari were on 204. Japan's Ayako Uehara made a hole-in-one at the par-3 17th, holing her hybrid tee shot on the fly. Duke wins first PGA title Ken Duke sank a two-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole Sunday to defeat fellow American Chris Stroud and win the $6.1 million Travelers Championship for his first US PGA title. The 44-year-old from Hope, Arkansas, took the $1.08 million top prize and became the oldest first-time US PGA Tour winner since Ed Dougherty won his only title at age 47 in 1995. Duke had been a runner-up three times in PGA events — at New Orleans in 2007 and Milwaukee and the Ginn sur Mer Classic in 2008. Stroud, a 31-year-old Texan whose best prior PGA finish was a share of fourth at the 2011 Mayakoba Classic in Mexico, sank a 48-foot chip shot for a birdie at the 18th on the last hole of regulation play to force a playoff. Duke and Stroud both finished 72 holes on 12-under par 268. Duke fired a final-round 66, five-under par, while Stroud shot 67. Canada's Graham DeLaet was third on 269 with American Bubba Watson fourth on 270. — Agencies
