Pajaree Annannarukarn defeated Ayaka Fuue in the Bank of Hope Match Play to win her second LPGA championship. The Thai golfer thrived during a marathon week at Shadow Creek. She poured in eight birdies against Linn Grant in the semifinal and hung tough to beat Furue 3-1 on a windy and hot day in Las Vegas.
Anannarukarn won her first LPGA championship two years ago in Northern Ireland at the ISPS Handa World Invitational after a playoff with Emma Talley. Anannarukarn spoke about her struggle to win in Vegas.
She told Golf Channel that “Golf can be unfair, and sometimes it is hard to get back up.” “I kept trying to improve my game in any way I could.”
After 116 holes played over five days your @LPGAMatchPlay champion is @MeawPajaree pic.twitter.com/zQ7KSiqFLt
LPGA (@LPGA May 29 2023
Anannarukarn won $225,000 for her victory and a place in the field of the U.S. Women’s Open 2023 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. She recorded 12 birdies on Sunday, in 34 holes.
Anannarukarn and Claude Harmon III have been working together since November 2019. Harmon has a different schedule and is mainly working on men’s tours. The pair only get to see each other twice a year because Harmon travels differently. She said that her focus is now mainly on swinging.
Anannarukarn received an early birthday gift. She played 116 holes in the entire week and beat the likes Carlota Ciganda, Cheyenne Knight, and Karis Davison to make it out of round-robin. In two days, she will turn 24.
Anannarukarn, who is now in her fifth year on the tour, joins Atthaya Thitikul, Moriya, Jutanugarn, Jasmine Suwannapura, and Ariya, Jutanugarn, as Thai players to have won at least two LPGA championships in their careers.
Furue, a Japanese player who has made it to the finals for the second year in a row, almost pulled off a late-round miracle when her last shot from the bunker came close to the hole.
Leona Maguire, who won third place in the match-play competition at Shadow Creek Covid this year, split her prize money and points with Grant. Grant was making his debut in the U.S.
COVID-19 regulations, which require that international visitors be fully immunized against the virus, prevented the former Arizona State player from competing in the U.S.
