Tag: Moriya Jutanugarn

LPGA: Emotional Ariya Jutanugarn wins at home in Thailand with closing 63

A closing birdie and a long wait for a weather delay lead Jutanugarn to her first victory in her homeland at Honda LPGA Thailand.

Ariya Jutanugarn dropped to her knees on the practice putting green in a heap of sobs. She’d done it. She’d finally won at home in Thailand. The only thing that could’ve made the moment sweeter was a mob of adoring fans.

Jutanugarn is so beloved in Thailand that they made a movie about her life with big sister Moriya. They even put her face on a Gatorade bottle.

“It feels great to be able to win a tournament again,” said Ariya. “It feels even more great to be able to win in Thailand.”

It had been 1,015 days since Jutanugarn’s last LPGA victory. She’s now the first Thai player to win the Honda LPGA Thailand event, which seems fitting given that she was the first Thai to win on the LPGA and rise to No. 1.

Jutanugarn fired a 9-under 63 on Sunday to hold off the next wave of Thai stars, finishing at 22 under for the tournament. Remarkably, Thai players finished 1-2-3.

Atthaya Thitikul closed with a 68 to finish one shot back in solo second, while ANA Inspiration winner Patty Tavatanakit finished in a tie for third at 20 under along with three-time Honda Thailand winner Amy Yang, Angel Yin and So Yeon Ryu.

“You know, I feel like I handled everything pretty well,” said Tavatanakit, who entered the final round with a one-shot lead and carded a second consecutive 70. “Just didn’t hit it great today. I grinded back to shoot 2 under par again.

“I mean, I played eight rounds in Asia and I shot under par in all of them. I’m still pretty proud of myself.”

Jutanugarn birdied the first three holes Sunday and made the turn in 30. She closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th, the hole she tripled in 2013 to squander a two-shot lead to eventual winner Inbee Park.

And then she waited.

At 2:47 p.m. local time, with the final group still in the fairway, play was suspended due to inclement weather. Thitikul was in the 18th fairway when played stopped for over an hour. She needed an eagle to win and a birdie to force a playoff.

“You know, I grab my phone and I look at my caddie and I’m like, ‘I shouldn’t turn on my phone, right?’” said Jutanugarn of the delay. “He’s like, ‘No, don’t turn on your phone.’ ”

She instead headed to the range and listened to music with her sister.

When play resumed, Jutanugarn wanted to go to the 18th to watch the finish, but caddie Pete Godfrey advised against it.

“On the putting green, I wanted to watch how they play so bad,” she said. “I want to know because I feel like I have to go playoff anyway, but my caddie stop me from doing that.

“He’s like, ‘You watch or you not watching them play the result not going to change. How about you just putt and practice?’ ”

She followed the advice. When Godfrey came over and told this boss that she’d won, Jutanugarn broke down sobbing.

A two-time major champion who became the youngest player to ever qualify for an LPGA event at age 11 when she played in Thailand, Jutanugarn now owns 11 LPGA titles and has amassed over $9 million in earnings. She has always said she plays to inspire and help the youth in Thailand.

She admitted that lately, it’s been tough to keep up the grind.

Before the round, Jutanugarn spoke with longtime mental coaches Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott. For Nilsson’s birthday, Jutanugarn promised that she’d focus more on her commitment to each shot in the final round and less on outcome.

“I would say without them, I’m not who I am right now,” said Jutanugarn of her strong team of supporters.

“Because how many times I just want to like stop and I feel like (it’s) so tough for me, but they – like Pia and Lynn told me this morning, I want you to believe in yourself at the same level they believing in me.

“So that just mean so much to me. After I talk to them, I feel like I just come back and believe in myself, and one day I’m going to get what I want.”

At long last, that day has arrived.

Past champ Moriya Jutanugarn rebounds with back-nine 29 to take early lead at LA Open

It certainly didn’t start off promising for Moriya Jutanugarn, who found herself four over through her first five holes at Wilshire Country Club, site of her break-through win on the LPGA in 2018. And then something flipped. Jutanugarn birdied the …

It certainly didn’t start off promising for Moriya Jutanugarn, who found herself four over through her first five holes at Wilshire Country Club, site of her break-through win on the LPGA in 2018.

And then something flipped.

Jutanugarn birdied the next six consecutive holes. In fact, she birdied 10 of her last 13 to rebound with a 6-under 65 and lead the field at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open.

“I mean, I don’t realize until I sign the scorecard I shot 29 on the backside today,” said Jutnaugarn. “It was pretty fun.”

Austin Ernst and Nelly Korda, two winners in 2021, are tied for second 5 under. Korda, who missed the cut in her previous two starts at Wilshire, holed out for eagle on the 16th hole (her front side) with a pitching wedge to give her round an early boost.

“I hit some really close,” said Korda, who finished in a share of second last week in Hawaii. “On 11 I hit it to tap-in range. It’s definitely nice when you have those tap-ins out here. … when you do make a par, the key is to hit your first putt close, not leave yourself the longer putt.

“I kind of learned that hopefully over the past two, three years, and I can take that into the next three days.”

Hugel-Air Premia LA Open: Leaderboard

World No. 1 Jin Young Ko headlines a group at 4 under that includes recent major winners Sei Young Kim and A Lim Kim.

Inbee Park opened with a 68. Three years ago, Park reclaimed the No. 1 ranking for the fourth time in her career with a share of second at Wilshire.

“The greens are just really tricky,” said Park. “I mean, like some putts are really quick, some really slow. It’s very slopey, so just don’t know which way it’s going to break, how much it’s going to break. It’s very tough.

“I think nobody is going to really have a great putting week this week. I mean, it’s poana greens and it’s quite quick on the downhill putts, so I think we just got to watch out for the speed of the putts and try to hit it close as you can.”

Nelly Korda
Nelly Korda tees off at the 14th hole during the first round of the LPGA’s 2021 Hugel-Air Premia LA Open tournament at Wilshire Country Club. (Photo: Ashley Landis/Associated Press)

When Moriya won the LA Open in 2018, her sister Ariya’s emotional reaction was the most memorable part of the finish. With Koreatown only a few blocks away from the city club, Asian fans came out in droves to watch Sunday’s finale.

Ariya broke down sobbing after Moriya clinched her first title, showing more emotion for her older sister’s success than any of her own previous victories, including her first major.

“It’s amazing,” Ariya said in the moment three years ago. “I mean, to me, I feel like not only did she reach her goal, but I feel like our family reached our goal.”

Needless to say, Moriya loves coming back to Los Angeles. She enjoys the weather, the food and the challenge of Wilshire. Ariya opened this week’s event with a 71.

“You just have to put yourself into good position to play and sometimes just to make a two-putt,” she said.

“I just like happened to be make a little bit more putts today.”

[lawrence-related id=778100480,778099553,778097375]

Heat, course, wind don’t slow down Patty Tavatanakit at ANA Inspiration

Patty Tavatanakit defied the course conditions, strengthening winds in the afternoon and temperatures in the mid-90s, at the ANA Inspiration.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Officials at Mission Hills Country Club thought the Dinah Shore Tournament Course might play so tough for the ANA Inspiration this week that a winning score in single digits under par for 72 holes would be a reasonable expectation.

Patty Tavatanakit needed just 31 holes to surpass that mark.

Tavatanakit, the 21-year-old Thai golfer who played her college golf at UCLA, defied the course conditions, strengthening winds in the afternoon and temperatures in the mid-90s that caused her to feel tired in the middle of the round to maintain the lead in the LPGA’s first major championship of the year Friday.

She shot a 3-under 69 while other golfers were fighting to stay at or near even par on the day, putting Tavatanakit at 9-under 135, one shot ahead of Sanshan Feng.

ANA Inspiration: Leaderboard | Photos

The key, Tavatanakit said, was to not think about the magnitude of the event.

“I didn’t want to take it like, oh, I’m leading a major championship,” she said. “I just want to look at it like it’s another round, it’s another tournament. Even though it is a big tournament, I don’t want to put emphasis on it like it’s a major.”

Feng, playing in the afternoon, also shot 69 despite three bogeys in her round. Despite playing on what is considered a long hitter’s paradise, where the LPGA’s biggest hitters take advantage of the par-5s, Moriya Jutanugarn managed a 69 in the morning wave of tee times to get to 7-under, alone in third.

[vertical-gallery id=778096604]

Jutanugarn, ranked 131st on the LPGA average driving distance stats at a fraction under 240 yards, fired a 3-under 69 on Friday to move to 7-under for the tournament. She took sole possession of the lead at the first major championship of the year as the morning wave of tee times finished their round. Jutanugarn had four birdies in the round, but just one on a par-5, that being the second hole on the Shore Course.

“It’s just about patient out there,” Jutanugarn said. “I mean, I’m not a long hitter so I just have to take what I can and just trying to play smart and put myself into, you know, like places I can have a good chance.”

Moriya Jutanugarn, one of LPGA’s shorter hitters, finds success at ANA Inspiration

Moriya Jutanugarn, ranked 131st in LPGA average driving distance, fired an 3-under 69 Friday to move to 7-under for the tournament.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — The ANA Inspiration is supposed to be a long hitter’s paradise, with the LPGA’s biggest hitters taking advantage of the par-5s on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club.

Which doesn’t explain how Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn, one of the tour’s shortest hitters, found her way to the top of the leaderboard midway through Friday’s second round.

Jutanugarn, ranked 131st on the LPGA average driving distance stats at a fraction under 204 yards, fired an 3-under 69 Friday to move to 7-under for the tournament. She took sole possession of the lead at the first major championship of the year as the morning wave of tee times finished their round. Jutanugarn had four birdies in the round, but just one on a par-5, that being the second hole on the Shore Course.

“It’s just about patient out there,” Jutanugarn said. “I mean, I’m not a long hitter so I just have to take what I can and just trying to play smart and put myself into, you know, like places I can have a good chance.”

ANA Inspiration: Leaderboard | Photos

Jutanugarn reached 8-under for the tournament before a bogey on the par-4 15th, but kept the round going with a clutch eight-foot par putt on the 16th hole.

She ended her round moments before overnight leader Patty Tavatanakit began her second round. Jutanugarn was 6-under entering the round, but two other players, Shanshan Feng and Anna Nordqvist, were also at 6 under.

[vertical-gallery id=778096604]

Nordqvist’s round of 70 came when winds were gusty in the morning. The breeze calmed down during the mid-morning. Feng birdied her first two holes in the afternoon to reach 7-under but then lost a shot on the third hole.

“I feel like we are always going to play in the wind here,” Jutanugarn said. “You know, like every time, every year we come it’s always going to be kind of windy.”

Major champions moving up the board

Other major champions near the lead midway through the day included 2020 ANA Inspiration champion Mirim Lee, 2019 ANA champion Jin Young Ko and 2020 AIG Women’s Open Sophia Popov, making her first start in the Coachella Valley, all at 5-under.

“Obviously, so far so good,” said Popov, whose absence from the tournament last year after she had won the AIG Women’s Open spurred the LPGA to change its rules about major winners automatically getting into tournaments. “You know, with good play you’re actually having fun, so, so far it’s been awesome. It’s kind of what I hoped for. I watched this tournament so many times. Been here, watched my former teammates (from USC) play.”

Popov wasn’t in the field because the tournament and LPGA had frozen the ANA Inspiration field at its April status, even though thee tournament was postponed to September, after the AIG Women’s open, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jutaqnugarn, the older sister of Ariya, is looking for her second LPGA win and her first major championship. Her sister has 10 wins, including two majors.

[lawrence-related id=778096720,778096593,778096517]

Jutanugarn sisters among seven players, caddies with positive COVID-19 results during pre-tournament testing for Pelican

Moriya and Ariya Jutanugarn are two of the seven LPGA personnel to test positive for COVID-19 ahead of the Pelican Women’s Championship.

BELLEAIR, Florida – The same day the Jutanugarn sisters got a new puppy, Moriya’s body started to feel weak and achy. A fever spiked later that night and on Nov. 7, she took a COVID-19 test. The next day, younger sister Ariya took one too. Both were positive.

They named their white Maltese “Casper” and couldn’t be more grateful to have such a wonderful distraction during their locked-up life. Ariya even created an Instagram account for the dog.

“It feels like a really, really bad flu,” said Moriya, who stays in her bedroom at their Lake Nona home.

A total of seven players and caddies tested positive in pre-tournament COVID-19 testing before the start of the Pelican Women’s Championship. No one, however, tested positive at the tournament site in Belleair, Florida.

Since the LPGA and Symetra Tour started testing players in July, tour officials say that approximately 6,200 tests have been administered, with 27 of those coming back positive. Of those 27 positive tests, 18 came during pre-tournament testing (before players left for the tournament).

Players will undergo more pre-tournament testing the week of Thanksgiving ahead of the next stop in Dallas, Dec. 3-6, and again once they arrive onsite.

Players and caddies aren’t the only ones who have had to quarantine in recent months. Golf Channel’s Grant Boone tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after arriving in Georgia for last month’s LPGA Drive On Championship. Boone said he experienced five days of bad symptoms, spent 10 days in a hotel, drove 1,000 miles back home and spiked a fever that reached as high as 106 degrees.

Boone’s illness led to a shuffle of on-air talent that ultimately led to LPGA commissioner Mike Whan doing on-course commentating.

Boone, who is back in the booth this week in Belleair, still hasn’t regained a sense of taste and smell.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHg95Ywnxf8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Moriya knows how that feels, though she’s starting to enjoy the taste of food once again. The worst stretch lasted four days, Moriya said, and the fever was so bad she wouldn’t have left her bedroom even if she could. Moriya also developed a cough, which she’s still fighting.

Ariya, however, has never had more than a headache throughout the ordeal.

Both are hopeful that they’ll be able to compete in the last stretch of tournaments that includes the U.S. Women’s Open in Houston. They’ll test again early next week.

“I should be fine,” said Moriya, “but I don’t know if I’m still going to test positive.”

[lawrence-related id=778077293,778077263,778076784,778074684,778074278]