A Hollywood ending for resolute Moriya
After several misses, Thai clinches first win
LOS ANGELES: Moriya Jutanugarn knows patience. She’s had ample time to learn it while pursuing her first victory on the LPGA Tour.
Moriya broke through on Sunday in her sixth year on the tour, winning the LA Open by two shots to make her and sister Ariya the second set of siblings to win on the women’s elite circuit after Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam.
Ariya and Moriya are Thailand’s only LPGA champions.
Moriya received US$225,000 (approximately 7.1 million baht) in prize money.
“I just work on what I have to do and just be patient,’’ said Moriya, who was a picture of calm while her sister Ariya and mother Narumon got emotional.
“They actually cried more than me,’’ said the 23-year-old from Bangkok. “It was great. I’m always feeling the support from them.’’
Playing in the shadow of the famed Hollywood sign at the Wilshire Country Club, Moriya shot a three-under-par 68 for a 12-under 272 on Sunday in the tour’s return to Los Angeles after a 13-year absence.
Moriya won in her 156th start after three career runner-up finishes, including at the Honda LPGA Thailand in February. She had 21 top-10 finishes before winning.
“I feel like not only she reached her goal, but also our family reached our goal,’’ Ariya said. “She inspires me a lot to be patient.’’
Seven-time LPGA winner Ariya was tied for 24th after a 70. She joined the predominantly Asian crowd to follow her older sister’s final holes, biting her nails, covering her mouth and finally crying as Moriya two-putted to close it out.
“I was really nervous,’’ Ariya said. “I know she can do it, but I was just rooting for her so much.’’
The Thai sisters are 16 months apart, and don’t enjoy comparisons to each other.
“I have my own way to do things and she has her own way,” Moriya said.
Ariya added: “We never compare each other. We just know we are going to do our best and try our hardest.’’
Hall of Famer Park In-Bee of South Korea shot a 68 to tie for second with compatriot Ko Jin-Young (70) — two shots behind the Thai champion. Park returned to No.1 in the world in yesterday’s rankings, knocking off topranked Feng Shanshan of China who finished tied for 12th.
Moriya began the final round with a twoshot lead and never wavered in fulfilling the potential she first displayed as the LPGA rookie of the year in 2013.
After a birdie at the second hole, she reeled off nine consecutive pars before sinking birdie putts at 12 and 13.
She overcame a tee shot that narrowly missed going out of bounds for another birdie at 15 to lead by three.
Moriya ran into trouble on the par-4 16th. Her approach landed on the green and rolled off it, stopping inches from dropping into a bunker.
Her chip shot ran well past the hole and her par putt just missed catching the edge of the cup. That left her with a short putt for bogey, her first in her previous 28 holes, trimming her lead to two shots.
Moriya’s threesome had to wait on 17 for a while, giving her time to think about the finish. “I changed my focus to something else and when I have to hit the ball I kind of bring it back,’’ she said. “I don’t want to be going crazy with what’s going on the last hole.’’
Moriya’s birdie bid on the final hole came up a couple of feet short, but she calmly parred the hole to win. Ariya rushed onto the green and joined others in emptying water bottles on her sister before they embraced. “On the LPGA Tour, they throw water a lot, but I don’t know if it’s this much,’’ Moriya said.
LEADING FINAL ROUND SCORES
(Par-71, USA unless noted)
272 — Moriya Jutanugarn (THA) 68-66-70-68
274 — Park In-Bee (KOR) 66-71-69-68, Ko Jin-Young (KOR) 71-67-66-70
277 — Ryu So-Yeon (KOR) 71-65-73-68
278 — Emma Talley 68-72-71-67, Ji Eun-Hee (KOR) 68-69-70-71
279 — Morgan Pressel 71-68-73-67, Lee Min-Jee (AUS) 69-73-66-71
280 — Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong (THA) 70-72-69-69