World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul ended the LPGA Tour’s unique winners streak with a comeback win at Buick LPGA Shanghai following a dramatic five-hole play-off.
Victory looked at first to be in Japan’s Minami Katsu’s favor, who went without a bogey at Sunday’s final round at Qizhong Garden Golf Club. She held a four-shot lead with only five holes to play and momentum was on her side with six birdies under her belt. But Thailand’s Thitikul remained in hot pursuit of her second win of the season during the crucial closing stages. She sank an incredible series of three birdies through 14, 15, and 16 to put the pressure on Katsu. An eagle at the 17th saw her level with the Japanese player, who required a closing birdie at the 18th to win outright. However, she was only able to par the hole resulting in a play-off.
The pair seemed inseparable as they both parred the first four play-off holes, with Katsu narrowly missing two birdie putts for the win. But the fifth play-off hole saw Katsu miss a chip for birdie and Thitikul take advantage after her approach shot placed the ball three feet away for a simple putt to seal victory.
Her second win of the season is a welcome balm for Thitikul who had narrowly missed out on victory at last month’s Kroger Queen City Championship.
“What happened on the last event (was) definitely still in my mind, but like to be able to prove myself again this tournament, which is … like a dream come true and you know, I’m not carrying a thing on my shoulder,” she said.
Thitikul’s final-round 63 was the round of the day that brought her level with Katsu’s overall 24 under total. Australia’s Minjee Lee finished five shots adrift at 19 under in third. After her triumph at the Women’s PGA Championship that saw her claim a third major title, Lee was also on task to end the no-repeat winners streak, but faded from contention halfway through the final round.
Korea’s Somi Lee, USA’s Jenny Bae, and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita all shared fourth place at 17 under, whilst defending champion and World No. 7 Ruoning Yin finished in a tie for 26th place.
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is the BMW Ladies Championship presented by P&G taking place between 16-19 October at Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do in the Republic of Korea