Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand signed off the longest week on the LPGA Tour with a 3&1 victory over Ayaka Furue of Japan on Sunday to win the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play in Las Vegas.
For a split second, it looked as though the match would go down 18, when Furue hit the left side of the hole with her bunker shot on the penultimate hole. However, the ball failed to drop and, with her opponent in close, the match was conceded.
“Match Play is taking a lot of energy throughout the week,” said Anannarukarn, after her seventh match in five days. “I'm really soaking it in right now. It's been a great week, and I'm grateful for everything.”
For Anannarukarn, the first Thai winner on the LPGA Tour this season, this was victory number two, and her first since the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland in 2021, a tournament co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the 23-year-old. In her match with Karis Davidson of Australia, and after losing the 18th to set up a playoff, she found herself in a divot in the first cut. Somehow, though, she managed to gouge the ball out and make par.
Then, after disposing of Solheim Cup stalwart Carlota Ciganda and Cheyenne Knight of the United States in the quarter finals, Anannarukarn found top gear, reeling off eight birdies against Linn Grant in her last four tie on a fast and firm Shadow Creek.
Furue took out Leona Maguire of Ireland in her semi final, but despite taking an early lead, she found her opponent too hot to handle in the championship match.
Anannarukarn looked to have taken control when she won the 12th with a short birdie to go 2 up, only for Furue to fight back with a long iron to two feet for a conceded birdie on the next hole.
However, the Thai bounced straight back with a birdie of her own on 14, before delivering a laser of an iron to six feet on the 17th, which proved to be the killer blow.
“The wind picked up a lot. I think I used up all my birdies,” added a jubilant Anannarukarn. “I really tried hard. I missed a couple of putts, I shanked one out of the bunker. It's golf, and I really tried. I'm glad I was able to play decent enough.”
