Jutanugarn became the first female golfer to win three straight events since Inbee Park did it in 2013.
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“It feels good”, Jutanugarn said. “I have to work mainly on my putting for the third round”, she said.
Ariya became the first Thai player to win an LPGA title when she took the Yokohama Tire Classic in Alabama earlier this month and added the Kingsmill Championship last week.
“I think last year I have chance to win like few tournament last year but I didn’t learn like how to play with pressure, like I didn’t know how to play golf”.
“It was a dark time”, says Moriya, who is also a fixture on the LPGA; after finishing 27th at the Volvik she followed her kid sis in the gallery on the back nine. “This year my goal was is just like win a tournament, so win like three in a row quick”. She posted a 15-under par score to win by five shots.
The Thai fired a five-under 67 in the final round to storm to her win at the Travis Pointe Country Club in MI on Sunday.
Korda said she was “speechless”, after playing in the final group with Jutanugarn.
Ariya was at or near the top throughout the tournament.
The long-hitting Ariya did not hit her driver all week because of the fast and firm conditions at Travis Pointe. She blew the lead, bogeying all three holes to lose to Lydia Ko.
Leading the tournament after two days, she was again a miracle worker on Saturday (May 28).
Sitting a mere shot behind Jutanugarn are a pair of multiple time LPGA winners, Jessica Korda and Christina Kim, while Suzann Pettersen and Hyo Joo Kim, another pair of multiple winners, sit three back. A bogey at No. 13 dropped her to 7 under and she birdied the next hole.
“Hit cut 3-wood and it didn’t cut”, she said.
“Today was a little bit windy on the back nine and I just had to control my ball flight today, and my tee shots were pretty good, my iron was good today”, Jutanugarn said. “First bogey I just feel like, ‘Really?” Her sand shot set her up for a short putt and an 11-under 133 total.
Lightning in the area led to a 50-minute rain delay toward the end of Jutanugarn’s front nine when she was 1 under for the day after a birdie at No. 6.
Facing a stiff, flag-flapping wind, she sent a tee shot into the right rough at No. 9. “She’s such a special person and she’s fought so hard to get here”, she said. As Ariya walked off the green, she stopped to shake the hand of Army specialist Zachary Loughrige, who was tending the USA flag that was used in the hole.
Without a driver in her bag this week, Jutanugarn picked up four more birdies to run away from the field with a 5-under 67 in the final round and finish 15-under overall and take home the winner’s check of $195,000.
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Before the breakthrough winning streak, Ariya was best known for two final-round heartbreaks.
