Ariya Jutanugarn once again etched her name into the record books after claiming her first major title at the RICOH Women’s British Open. With a final round 72, Jutanugarn becomes the first male or female golfer from Thailand to win a major championship. It marks her fourth career victory and her fourth this season. She’s projected to move to No. 3 in the world, the highest rank of her career.
The 20-year old from Bangkok edged Mirim Lee of South Korea and American Mo Martin by three shots and finished at 16-under par atop the leaderboard.
“Feels great,” said Jutanugarn. “After my first tournament on Tour, my goal is I really want to win a major, and I did, so I’m very proud of myself.”
It seemed like Jutanugarn had a strong hold on winning without issue after her second birdie in her first six holes to get to 18-under par and to extend her lead to six shots. A bogey on No. 9 dropped her to 17-under while Mirim Lee made a surge after the turn. Lee made three consecutive birdies on Nos. 10-12 to cut the lead to three.
Things started getting very interesting on the par 4, 13th hole when Jutanugarn found herself in trouble with her tee shot. She pulled it, landing between two trees and punched out over the elevated green. She sailed her third shot over the green and chipped to 10 feet and failed to convert her bogey putt, dropping two shots and cutting the lead to just one.
“I did, on 13, I’m like, oh, what’s wrong with me,” said Jutanugarn. “But after that, I’m really like be patient and I can come back really good.”
Lee had some unraveling herself on the next hole – the par 4, 16th - when she pulled her tee shot into the deep brush and needed to punch out sideways. She hit her third shot to seven feet and sank the par putt for an impressive save to stay within one shot with two holes to play.
But on the par-3, 17th hole, Jutanugarn put the pressure on Lee after hitting her tee shot to 20 feet. Lee missed her long birdie putt while Jutanugarn sank hers to extend the lead to two shots with one hole to play. She said she struggled with her putter throughout the round but saved the best putt for the best time.
“Actually I really want to make myself happy -- because I miss a lot of putts,” said Jutanugarn. “I feel like, come on, just make one.”
ON TO RIO
Jutanugarn will next head to Rio de Janeiro to represent Thailand in the Olympics Games with a major championship to her name. It’s a pertinent question of what a major title and even an Olympic medal could do for Thai golf. She said after playing four consecutive weeks, she’s looking forward to some rest when she returns to Thailand for eight days then will focus on preparing for the Games.
“To me right now, I play four week in a row already, so I really want to rest, and maybe practice,” said Jutanugarn. “I still want to practice, because I really want to play good in Rio.”
LEADING LADY
Jutanugarn improved her record for wins when holding the 54-hole lead and impressively has closed out now the last four times she’s held the lead heading into Sunday. All four of her career wins have come this season.
Ariya Jutanugarn With Third Round Lead:
| Year | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | RICOH Women's British Open (solo) | Win |
| 2016 | LPGA Volvik Championship (solo) | Win |
| 2016 | Kingsmill Championship (solo) | Win |
| 2016 | Yokohama LPGA Classic (solo) | Win |
| 2015 | ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open (share) | 3 |
| 2013 | Honda LPGA Thailand (solo) | 2 |
YOUTH STRIKES AGAIN
With her win, Jutanugarn became the second youngest winner of this event, just five months older than Jiyai Shin when she won in 2008. She also becomes the 12th youngest player to win any major.
Youngest Winners – RICOH Women’s British Open
| Age | Player | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 20/3/6 | Jiyai Shin | 2008 |
| 20/8/8 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 2016 |
| 21/6/9 | Yani Tseng | 2010 |
| 22/6/8 | Yani Tseng | 2011 |
She also brings the average age of major winners back down this week and now sits at a 21.5 years old average. With her win, now 20 of the 22 events this year have been won by players 23 years old or younger.
Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson both won their majors this season at 18 years old while Brittany Lang became the oldest winner on Tour this year, winning the U.S. Women’s Open at age 30.
| Event | Player | Age |
|---|---|---|
| ANA Inspiration | Lydia Ko | 18-years-old |
| KPMG Women's PGA Championship | Brooke Henderson | 18-years-old |
| U.S. Women's Open | Brittany Lang | 30-years-old |
| RICOH Women's British Open | Ariya Jutanugarn | 20-years-old |
OF NOTE
- Karrie Webb finished T5 this week. Webb’s last top-10 finish in a major came at the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
- 2014 RICOH Women’s British Open champion Mo Martin (-13) finished runner-up this week at Woburn Golf Club.
- Five total eagles were carded this weekend to bring the total number of weekend eagles to 202 during the CME Group Cares Weekend in 2016. CME Group Cares Weekends is a season-long charity program that will be tied into the Race to the CME Globe. Each Saturday and Sunday at LPGA tournaments, the money raised will go towards a charitable pool and will be split evenly between Wounded Warrior Project and Bright Pink at the end of the 2016 LPGA season. Representatives from Bright Pink and Wounded Warrior Project will be on hand Sunday of the CME Group Tour Championship for a check presentation.
)
){kind=spacer}
)
)
