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Ariya Jutanugarn wins 2nd in a row on the LPGA Tour

The Kiwi world No.1 closed with a two-under 69 at the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg to be six-under, eight strokes behind Thailand victor Ariya Jutanugarn.

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Her second win, she said, was “much easier” than her first, though it was not exactly a stroll in the park.

Meanwhile, Ko rounded off her tournament with a two-under-par 69.

Her historic victory came at the Yokohama Tyre LPGA Classic in Alabama.

Jutanugarn, 20, finished a shot clear of fast-finishing Australian Su Oh to climb to second in the LPGA’s points ranking behind Ko.

Elsewhere for Japan, Sakura Yonemine was 24th at 5-under 279 and Ayako Uehara was 32nd.

Jutanugarn sank a four-foot putt at the 17th to preserve her tenuous lead and then had to sweat over a five-foot par putt at the last to avoid a playoff. She recovered quickly with back-to-back birdies, and played the final 16 holes in 5 under. But it almost came in the year’s first Major tournament, when Ariya led by two strokes with three holes to play at the ANA Inspiration only to finish with three bogeys in a row and wind up fourth.

“I knew I had to get off to a really good start, and I did”, Oh said.

Oh, a South-Korean born Aussie playing on the eve of her 20th birthday, fired a 65 to finish second, with South Korea’s Kim Sei-Young and American Gerina Piller sharing third on 272 after each shot 66 in the final round at Williamsburg, Virginia.

Jutanugarn began her round with a bogey at the second, but quickly bounced back with consecutive birdies at the third and fourth before adding two more birdies at the seven and ninth.

A bogey at the 12th dropped Oh back but she birdied at the par-5 15th to again draw one adrift of Ariya.

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Pornanong birdied both par-fives and par-threes on the front nine but closed the outward half with her lone bogey.

Ariya Jutanugarn is presented with a cheque by Wayne Nooe after winning the Kingsmill Championship presented by JTBC on the River Course at Kingsmill Resort yesterday