Tour rookie holds off Kang in playoff
ROGERS — Atthaya Thitikul delivered amid drama down the stretch Sunday at Pinnacle Country Club.
Thitikul, 19, sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to edge Danielle Kang at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. It was the second victory of the season for the LPGA Tour rookie, both in playoffs.
“The second win is really special for me,” said Thitikul, who also took the JTBC Classic in March in Carlsbad, Calif. “I just know I worked really hard. The hard work pays off.”
Thitikul and Kang were tied at 17-under 196 after the third and final round, and both parred No. 15, the first playoff hole.
On the par-4 16th, Kang sent her second shot about 20 feet behind the hole. The American’s birdie try then rolled 10 feet past on the other side. Thitikul, of Thailand, stepped up and calmly made an 8-footer for the win. She raised her arms in triumph, then celebrated with hugs while being doused with water.
“Actually didn’t think about like anything at all,” Thitikul said of the decisive shot. “Just look at the line, get the speed right. That’s pretty much it. I just had a chance to make a birdie because it’s not that far. And then in my mind, I just tell myself do your best, even if it’s not going in or whatever. Just do the best you can.”
Thitikul, who started the last round with a one-shot lead, curled in a 20-foot birdie that had just enough pace on the par-3 17th, tying Kang at 17 under and setting the stage for the playoff. Some members of the gallery, who knew Thitikul trailed by a shot, let out cheers of relief when the ball dropped in. Afterward, Thitikul said she hadn’t seen the leaderboard recently and didn’t know she was down at that moment.
“When it’s getting closer to the hole, I thought it was going to go into the center of the hole,” Thitikul said about sinking the equalizer. “But it was just like a little bit to the left.”
Kang was three groups ahead. Her chip-in eagle at 18 drew a huge roar from the crowd, got her to 17 under and added an exclamation point to a 7-under 64 final round.
“I kept telling my caddie that I just wanted to finish at 17 under,” Kang said. “I knew there were people at 14, 13, 12, that I could shoot 5 under or 4 under on this golf course. Sometimes, asking myself to shoot 8, 9 under is sometimes too much of a stretch.”
South Korea’s Chella Choi fired a 6-under and finished third at 16-under 197. An early birdie run, including three in a row at Nos. 5, 6 and 7, propelled her into a brief tie for the lead at 15 under.
“My favorite golf course here because I’m not — my driving is not too far,” Choi said. “But course is very narrow, so I try to focus on keep fairway and keep green.”
Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum carded a 66 and placed fourth at 14-under 199.
Americans Lizette Salas, Megan Khang and Ryann O’Toole were part of a seven-way tie for fifth at 13-under 200.
“I’m just trying to keep building and see where it takes me,” said O’Toole, who had an eagle at 18. “Top 10 last week and then this week again. I’m happy about that.”
Former University of Arkansas golfer Gaby Lopez tied for 64th (3-under 210), and former Razorback Alana Uriell tied for 69th at evenpar 213.
Fellow Razorbacks Stacy Lewis, Maria Fassi, Brooke Matthews and Kajal Mistral failed to make the cut.