American Jessica Korda yesterday fired a five-under par 67 in the final round to collect her first title since 2015 at the LPGA Thailand.
The 24-year-old, who was making her season debut after a jaw surgery during the off-season, recorded an emphatic wire-to-wire victory with 25 birdies and three eagles, finishing 25-under overall.
Korda racked up gains on the 11th, 13th and 15th before sinking a 7.6m birdie on the 17th to cruise to a fifth LPGA title.
Photo: AFP
“I can’t believe it; today was such a blur, I was just trying to make birdies. I tried to relax, but I was nervous,” Korda was quoted as saying by the LPGA Web site. “This was my first event my rookie year. I played really, really well this week.”
Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn finished second with 21-under alongside American Lexi Thompson, who remained within touching distance of Chinese Feng Shanshan’s world No. 1 ranking.
Feng carded six birdies in a bogey-free 66 to share fifth place with Jutanugarn’s younger sister Ariya.
Australian Minjee Lee recovered from an early bogey to finish seven shots off the lead at fourth on the leaderboard.
Pornanong Phatlum, the third-highest ranked player from Thailand, jumped from tied-16th to seventh place after an impressing 64, her personal best round at Siam Country Club by three shots.
Taiwan’s Candie Kung finished tied-34th with five-under, while Chien Pei-yun was tied for 49th at par.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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