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Ha Na Jang wins Coates Golf Champ. for 1st LPGA title

A year after finishing runner-up at the Coates Golf Championship, Ha Na Jang finished one place better on Saturday at Golden Ocala Golf Club.

Jang, who last week became the first player in LPGA history to make a par-4 ace, ended with two birdies in the final three holes to win by two strokes over Canadian teen Brooke Henderson at 11-under 277.

As the final birdie putt fell, Jang whipped her putter around in a celebration she dubbed a Samurai twirl, modeled after a famous golf video of a man doing a similar celebration after a great drive. Jang was due for the chance to share that kind of emotion.

“I can’t describe it,” she said. “I’m so happy. I cannot put it in my words.”

The 23-year-old's playoff runner-up here a year ago, which she managed after Monday qualifying, was the first of four second-place finishes a year ago. She finished fourth last week in the 2016 season-opener in the Bahamas. She's been knocking on the door again and again. In search of that first win, Jang needed to survive a marathon finish.

Jang, like the rest of the field, had to deal with a weather delay that wiped out most of Thursday's second-round play. She played 56 holes over the final two days, including in lousy conditions on Saturday. Jang began the final round tied with Lydia Ko at 11 under par. Ko struggled for the first two-thirds of the final round, falling to 6 over on the round after 13 holes. However, the world No. 1 mounted a late rally with birdies on Nos. 15-17, salvaging a final round of 3-over 75 and climbing into a tie for third with Sei Young Kim and In Gee Chun.

Knowing she wasn't going to win, Ko turned her attention to helping Jang, one of the more well-liked players on the LPGA, get to the finish line.

Walking off the 13th green, Jang said Ko told her, "'Ha Na, you can do it. Keep going, keep going.'"

Where Jang goes from here? Likely even closer to Ko's spot atop the world rankings.


Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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