Mao Saigo was shaking with nervousness before her birdie putt on the first hole of a five-way playoff Sunday in the Chevron Championship.

The 23-year-old Japanese player managed to compose herself in time to sink the 3-footer and win her first major title.

“I did my best to calm down and I shot and it went in,” she said in Japanese through a translator.

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 in The Woodlands, Texas.

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 shot only inches.

Jutanugarn led for most of the final round before her late gaffe after making two birdies and an eagle on the front nine.

“The front nine was very solid especially with the eagle, but back nine just couple mistakes on par 5 that I made; two bogeys,” she said.

Yin was in the best position in the playoff after getting onto the green in two shots. But she missed a 12-foot eagle putt and her comebacker for birdie lipped out to set up Saigo for the win.

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

The victory comes after runner-up finishes at the CPKC Women’s Open and Buick LPGA Shanghai last year.

“Last year it was a very intense competition,” she said. “I was so close but I was not able to make it. It was very disappointing. This year I was able to win and earn the LPGA title and I’m extremely excited about this.”

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. But she was still happy with her performance overall.

“Yeah, top five in a major, any week, is unbelievable; to have a chance, feeling the nerves,” she said. “And I feel like I have some things to learn about how to handle my swing and things like that. I’ll reflect on it (but) yeah, but what a week.”

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.

PGA Tour

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

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.

LIV Golf

Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf Mexico City for his third victory in six events this season, closing with a 6-under 65 for a three-stroke margin over Bryson DeChambeau and Lucus Herbert.

Niemann finished at 16-under 197 at Club de Golf Chapultepec. The 26-year-old Chilean star also won last year in Mexico at Mayakoba. He has five LIV victories after winning twice on the PGA Tour.

Herbert tied the course record with a 61, and second-round leader DeChambeau shot 70.