TAIPEI: South Korean Ji Eun-Hee lifted her first LPGA title in eight years with an emphatic six-stroke victory at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship on Sunday.
Ji, who held a six-stroke overnight lead, cruised through a bogey-free final round of seven-under 65 at the par-72 Miramar Resort and Country Club. The 31-year-old fired three birdies on the front-nine as she made the turn at 13-under, still six better than second-placed Lydia Ko of New Zealand.
Another birdie for Ji at the 10th hole opened a seven-shot lead over Ko, who got one back with a birdie of her own at the 11th but never threatened the South Korean’s title bid in the rest of the round.
Ji calmly tapped a three-foot par putt on the 18th to capture her third LPGA title and her first since her US Women’s Open triumph in July 2009.
“I’m so happy and excited because I haven’t won for the past eight years,” said Ji, who finished with a 17-under 271. “So I was waiting for this moment for so long, so I’m super happy right now.”
“It is a nice day for playing golf today, and I have a really good group with Lydia and Jenny (Shin), so I was more relaxed with them and enjoyed playing with them.”
Ko took the runner-up spot with a spotless seven-under 65 to finish with 11-under 277. Ji became the 11th different South Korean to lift an LPGA title this season, joining Jang Ha-Na, Amy Yang, Park In-Bee, Lee Mi-Rim, Ryu So-Yeon, Kim Sei-Young, Kim In-Kyung, Park Sung-Hyun, Lee Mi-Hyang and Ko Jin-Young. — Reuters
Taiwan LPGA Championship final scores
271 - Ji Eun-Hee (KOR) 66-71-69-65
277 - Lydia Ko (NZL) 70-74-68-65
281 - Ryu So-Yeon (KOR) 73-68-75-65, Lizette Salas (USA) 76-68-70-67, Carlota Ciganda (ESP) 72-70-71-68, Feng Shanshan (CHN) 72-70-71-68, Madelene Sagstrom (SWE) 72-68-73-68
282 - Cristie Kerr (USA) 73-70-70-69
283 - Jacqui Concolino (USA) 74-70-73-66
284 - Hsu Wei-Ling (TPE) 72-75-71-66, Brittany Lang (USA) 71-70-75-68, Angel Yin (USA) 71-71-72-70, Brittany Altomare (USA) 70-68-75-71
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