It came to the 72nd hole against some late charges. But when the dust settled, Patti Tawadanakit became the second Thai champion by winning his first tour event in 1,057 days at the Honda LPGA Thailand on Sunday. After opening the final round with a three-shot lead, he finished with a 5-under 67, the first time he has posted four rounds of an event in the 60s since his first Tour win at the 2021 Chevron Championship.
Tavatanakit immediately declared the field, no. He opened with back-to-back birdies on 1 and 2. No. After two close misses at 3 and 6, Tavadanakit evened the pace until the seventh, a hole she missed. 4-under in first three days (two birdies, one eagle). She left the tee near the fairway and went right, but her third shot landed a few feet below the pin to make it a three-shot lead and a -19 turn.
No. On 10, Tavadanakit missed the left green on a fairway and chipped in beautifully by two inches for another birdie and a -20 and 2023 winning score. After four straight pars, on Saturday the 15th, the no. After 11, Tawatanakit converted his first bogey into a „bad shot”.
„Total commitment, I wanted to do this process,” said No. Tavatanakit of 15 said. „When the ball left the club face it went out of my control, and I did everything you said, just worked my control really well. On that hole.” The Thai national said he had nerves on the 16th tee – as the wind began to shift and the pressure of rebounding after a bogey in front of his hometown crowd – but responded with another of his favorite birdies of the week. „I was like, you know what? Let's do it. Bring on whatever. I'm up for the challenge.
By the time Tavatanaguit turned 18, Alban Valenzuela had recorded the back nine of his career in two groups. No. A bird in 1 and no. A hole-out eagle on the 5th put Valenzuela six shots behind Tavatanakit. But the Swiss turned it around in his final holes as he carded six birdies in his last eight holes, including two on holes 17 and 18.
„It's funny, yesterday I felt a little nervous. Today I had a sense of inner peace that I could do it. I put my foot on the gas and tried to get it. I told my dad, 'Let's go 20,'” Valenzuela said. „I'm really proud of myself. I fought really hard and I see that I can make putts under pressure.
Valenzuela finished with his lowest round of the week with a 9-under 63. She waited in the locker room for a possible playoff as Tavatanakid birdied the par-5 closing hole. Her pin was 184 yards, and it came up a bit short of the green in the lower bowl after taking her 6-iron. She chipped to tap-in length and the rest is history.
„It was a lot of emotions. It was great. It was — I felt really proud. And a little bit — I felt a little bit tired. But overall, you know, again, I had a lot of pressure because I played in front of the home crowd today, and I was able to do it. Dream. It was surreal,” said Davatanakid. „It was unbelievable. I still can't believe I did it today.
„I wish I could be in this position more often, and hopefully next time I'll be in this position. It's a lot of fun. I don't think I've ever enjoyed playing on Sunday as much as I did today because of how calm I was,” Valenzuela said. „I told my dad. , I finally got out of my way and today I understand a lot about myself. Very excited to keep this momentum moving forward in the season.
Se Young Kim and Hye-Jin Choi both tied for third at -18 after 65 and 66, respectively. It was Kim's third top-10 finish at the 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Last year's runner-up Nattagrita Wongdawilap and major champion Hyo Joo Kim tied for fifth at -17. Defending champion Lilia Wu rebounded from a first-round 73 to finish tied for seventh with Emily Christine Pedersen (-16) at 67-67-65.
„I think I felt a little bit of the pressure of being like, oh, it's your first time on defense. But I love this place. I had a great time with my parents. I went to dinner with a couple of players. I went to dinner with Grandma and her parents, and it was a really fun week. ,” Wu said. „It's more than just golf. It's also about spending time with the people. I always think there's a good vibe here and I think it showed in my golf. The first day was a bit of a shock in the sun. My difficulty at WHOOP was 19. It's not normal.
Four players finished in a tie for ninth at 15-under, including two-time major champion Brooke Henderson and reigning Louis Vuitton Rolex Rookie of the Year Haren Ryu. Ryu opened the leaderboard at 2-6 with five straight birdies and tied for 65th for his eighth-career top-10 finish on Tour since 2018.