PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Brittany Lincicome won the LPGA Tour’s Pure Silk Bahamas Classic on Sunday in wind and some late rain, beating U.S. Solheim Cup teammate Lexi Thompson with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.
Playing a group ahead of Thompson, Lincicome birdied the par-5 18th – after dropping strokes on 14 and 17 – for a 5-under 68 and 26-under 266 total. Thompson played the 18th as strong sideways rain blew through the Ocean Club, holing a 3-footer for her third straight par and a 70.
The first U.S. winner since Brittany Lang in the U.S. Women’s Open, the 31-year-old Lincicome won her seventh tour title and first since the 2015 ANA Inspiration. She’s projected to jump from 48th to 34th in the world ranking.
In the playoff on 18, Lincicome hit her second shot to 20 feet and tapped in for birdie. Thompson went through the green in two and missed a 15-footer to end the tournament.
Stacy Lewis, undone by a triple-bogey 7 on No. 14, was third at 25 under after a 71, and Gerina Piller (71) completed the Solheim Cup quartette atop the leaderboard at 24 under.
Lewis was second in 2014 and tied for second last year. She’s winless since June 2014.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished in a tie for 21st at 13-under 279. The 19-year-old shot a 70 in her fourth round. Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., tied for 24th at 12 under and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was tied for 47th at 9 under.
Nelly Korda birdied the two late par 5s in a 67 to tie for fifth at 21 under in her first start as an LPGA Tour member. The 18-year-old Korda is the sister of Jessica Korda _ the 2014 winner who shot a 65 on Sunday to tie for 16th – and daughter of former tennis player Petr Korda.
Pornanong Phatlum matched Nelly Korda at 21 under, also finishing with a 67.