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Danielle Kang triumphs in LPGA Championship

American Danielle Kang held her nerve to win the LPGA Drive On Championship by one stroke as the tour resumed in Ohio after coronavirus.

Kang finished on seven under with France’s Celine Boutier a shot behind.

Boutier missed a four-foot birdie putt on the last hole that would have forced a play-off at the Inverness Club.

England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff, who had a share of the lead with Kang and Boutier going into the final day, saw her chances disappear with a three-over 75.

Ewart Shadoff, who was chasing her first LGPA title, was on five under after 12 holes of her final round but dropped shots on the 13th and 14th and double bogeyed the 15th to finish on two under, five behind Kang.

It was the fourth career title for Kang, 27, whose first win was the 2017 Women’s PGA Championship, and who also won in Shanghai in 2018 and 2019.

“I worked really hard for the last seven months,” she said after a two-under-par 70.

“I think just keeping patient and trusting all aspects of your golf brings it out in your game,

“You have got to respect the golf course. Even little putts I didn’t take it for granted.”

The LPGA managed to play only two events in January in the United States and two more in February in Australia before the season was stopped by the global pandemic.

The Inverness Club will host next year’s Solheim Cup event between the US and Europe.