Chanettee Wannasaen claimed a second LPGA Tour triumph of her career thanks to a one-shot victory at the Dana Open.
The 20-year-old Thai golfer came into the final round at Highland Meadows with a healthy three-shot advantage at the top of the leaderboard. Her lead was stretched to five after back-to-back birdies on 7 and 8 in what seemed would be a comfortable win. However, following the turn, that gap diminished after South Korea’s Haeran Ryu holed four birdies in a six-hole stretch and slip-ups on 10 and 13 for Wannasaen meant scores were level as players entered the 16th. But it was Wannasaen who kept her cool to narrowly defeat Ryu, closing with a 4-under 67 to end the tournament on 20 under.
“Last day, I cannot like calm down because my heart is like boom, boom, boom, boom,” Wannasaen said. “Every hole.”
“Right now, I’m feel like I’m going looking for third trophy,” Wannasaen added. “Yeah, I think it’s coming.”
With her victory at the Dana Open, Wannasaen has now claimed titles in the two oldest non-major tournaments on the LPGA Tour. She has also become youngest player to win on Tour this season (20 years, 3 months, 5 days), and the 14th different winner of the year.
Ryu birdied the final two holes to close with a final-round 65 and end the tournament a shot behind Wannasaen.
“I wanted to go to playoff,” the South Korean player said. “But really good shots and almost get it in.”
Defending champion Linn Grant and Ssu-Chia Cheng both tied for third at 14 under after both shot a 68.
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is the CPKC Women’s Open taking place between 25-28 July at Earl Grey Golf Club in Calgary, Canada.