MaoSaigo of Japan won the Chevron Championship on Sunday for her first major title, making a 3-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a five-way playoff.

Saigo birdied the par-5 18th in regulation for a 2-under 74, leaving her tied with Hyo Joo Kim, Ruoning Yin, Ariya Jutanugarn and Lindy Duncan. They finished at 7-under 281 at The Club at Carlton Woods.

Saigo won on the 18th in the playoff after Yin and Jutanugarn had birdie tries lip out. Jutanugarn bogeyed the 18th in regulation after stubbing her third short only inches.

Saigo won for the first time on the LPGA Tour. She was the tour’s rookie of the year last season. The 23-year-old player is the first Japanese winner in the event and the fifth major champion. She has six victories on the Japanese tour, five in 2022.

The 34-year-old Duncan bogeyed the playoff hole to come up short in her more than a decade-long quest to win her first title.

It’s the second time in three years that the tournament ended in a playoff after American Lilia Vu birdied the first extra hole to win in 2023.

Saigo took home $1.2 million from a purse of $8 million, an increase of $100,000 from last year’s purse.

Winners had been jumping into Poppie’s Pond off the 18th green at Mission Hills since 1988, and Saigo became the second to do it in Texas by leaping into the brown-tinged water. She shrieked and smiled as she went in holding hands with two members of her team.

Saigo entered the day tied with Haeran Ryu at 9 under. But she bogeyed five holes Sunday to fall behind before her birdie on the 18th hole got her a spot in the playoff to set up the thrilling finish.

Top-ranked Nelly Korda shot 70 to tie for 14th at 2 under. Winless this season, she won the event last year for the last of her record-tying five straight victories.

Novak-Griffin team takes Zurich Classic

Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin shot a 1-under 71 in alternate-shot play Sunday to become first-time PGA Tour winners — by one stroke — at the Zurich Classic.

They finished at 28-under 260 at the Pete Dye-designed TPC Louisiana and Novak finally broke through after a pair of top-three finishes this month — the last a playoff loss to Justin Thomas a week ago at the RBC Heritage.

Play was delayed by weather for just over 90 minutes with Novak on Griffin on the eighth hole.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy and fellow Irishman Shane Lowry, the defending champions, were in contention through 12 holes, but fell to 12th — six shots behind — with three late bogeys.

Danish identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard narrowly missed out on a first PGA Tour win, finishing second after a 68.

Novak and Griffin began the PGA Tour’s only team event three shots ahead but were caught by Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III before pulling back ahead when Griffin made a birdie put from nearly 35 feet on the par-3 17th.

That gave the eventual winners a two-shot lead after Capan had pulled his tee shot on 17 into the water left of the green. Novak’s tee shot also went farther left than intended and he had his hand over his chest as the ball stopped near the water’s edge.

But the clutch putt by Griffin on 17 allowed his team to win with a par on 18.