CORNING, N.Y. — Carin Koch of Sweden rallied past Mhairi McKay and Maria Hjorth on the back nine Sunday, shooting a 6-under-par 66 to win the Corning Classic by two strokes for her first LPGA victory.
Koch gained the lead for good when McKay bogeyed the par-3 11th hole, and finished at 18-under-par 270, two shots off the tournament record set three years ago by Tammie Green.
The $135,000 was the biggest paycheck of her seven years on tour and made Koch the 13th foreign-born winner in 15 LPGA events this year. Only Americans Juli Inkster and Rosie Jones have broken through.
McKay, of Scotland, finished with a 70-272. She took a double bogey on the 17th but birdied the final hole to tie Hjorth, also of Sweden, for second place. Jones also had a 66 and finished tied with Grace Park of South Korea at 273.
Mi Hyun Kim had a closing 67 and finished alone at 14-under 274.
McKay, who began the day with a one-shot lead over Hjorth and a two-shot lead over Koch, held or shared the lead with her playing partners through the first 10 holes.
Because the U.S. Women's Open is next week and the threat of rain was increasing for both Sunday and Monday from a slow-moving system over the Great Lakes, tournament officials decided to start the final round at 7:30 a.m., with threesomes starting at both the first and 10th holes.
The bad weather did not materialize and conditions remained nearly ideal for the fourth straight day.