Aruya: All is well that ends well
STAR BOUNCES BACK AFTER COLLAPSE
Jutanugarn holds nerve in play-off to become first Thai US Open champ.
Ariya Jutanugarn let a seven-stroke lead slip through her fingers at the US Women’s Open on Sunday after a remarkable back-nine collapse, but averted disaster by beating South Korean Kim Hyo-joo in a play-off to collect her second Major title.
Ariya became the first player from Thailand to win the championship when she parred the fourth extra hole at Shoal Creek after earlier finishing tied with Kim at 11-under-par 277.
Ariya, 22, who won her first major at the 2016 Women’s British Open, said a triple bogey at the par-four 10th, where she pushed her drive into a hazard, had drained her confidence but added she had been determined to grab her second chance in the play-off.
“After you have seven-shot lead and end up in play-off, I had no expectation because I kind of got mad a little bit with my back nine.
“I (told myself) I’m going to make sure I do my very best, because I feel like I didn’t commit the back nine. I have the last chance to make myself proud.”
Leading by seven with nine holes left, Ariya should have been marching to victory but instead stumbled into a tension-packed play-off as her game unravelled.
Her cushion had been whittled down to two shots when she bogeyed the 12th, minutes after Kim holed a 12m putt, and when the Korean sank an even longer putt, 15m from off the green at the 15th, Ariya’s lead was down to one.
After a long wait on the tee at the par-three 16th, Ariya hit a magnificent seven-iron from 200m that covered the pin the entire way before nestling 1m away and the birdie restored a two-shot cushion with two to play.
But Ariya made a mess of the par-five 17th and was lucky to escape with a bogey, then missed a 3m par putt at the last to sign off with a 73 and limp into a cumulative score two-hole play-off with Kim, who shot a bogey free 67.
They were still locked together after the two extra holes, at which point it went to sudden-death.
Ariya then made two superb up-and-down pars from bunkers, firstly to halve the third extra hole before winning at the next. – Reuters