NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Pajari Annarukarn of Thailand capped off the longest week on the LPGA Tour with a 3&1 win on Sunday to win the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play over Japan’s Ayaka Furue.
Annanarukarn, who beat Sweden’s Lyn Grant in the semifinals Sunday morning at Shadow Creek, led well with a birdie on the seventh hole.
The Thais kept the pressure going on a hot day north of Las Vegas, with both players holding umbrellas under a bright blue sky to fend off the sun’s rays. But just when it looked as if fatigue set in from playing seven games in five days, they produced some of their best shots.
Furue simply could not catch up, and finished second for the second year in a row.
“Match Play takes a lot of energy throughout the week,” said Annanarukarn. “I’m really getting through it at the moment. It’s been an amazing week, and I’m so thankful for everything.”
The match ended on the par-3 17th when Anannarukarn holed her tee to a right-handed pin 6 feet to the right of the hole and Furue found a back bunker. Furue’s bunker shot hit the left side of the hole—had it hit the pin, it might have fallen—and rolled about 12 feet. You gave up the match.
Anannarukarn has won for the second time on the LPGA Tour, and first time since the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland in 2021, a tournament jointly held with the Ladies European Tour.
Two days ago, it looked like it might be thrown out. Annanarukarn lost on the 18th hole to Australian Carris Davidson, resulting in a sudden-death playoff. Anannarukarn hit a tee shot that sank deep into a hole on the first cut. She hit perhaps her most important shot of the week, flicking it onto the green to win the tie.
In the knockout stage, she eliminated Carlota Ceganda in the Solheim Cup and then Qian Knight of the United States in the quarterfinals. I made eight birdies against Grant in the semi-final, great golf considering the fast, steady conditions at Shadow Creek.
Forio snatched Ireland’s Leona Maguire in the semi-finals, another star from the past Solheim Cup, and took an early lead against the Thai in the championship match until the first of several mistakes made by both players.
But the temperature was rising and the wind was picking up. Anannarukarn and Furue only made one birdie through 11 holes, and the Thais missed a short birdie putt on the 8th and 9th that could have extended their lead.
“The wind picked up a lot,” said Annanarukarn. “I think I’ve used up all my birds.” “I tried really hard. I missed two putts, and hit one from the bunker. It’s golf, and I really tried. I’m glad I was able to play decent enough.”
The final kick was special.
Anannarukarn won the 12th with a short birdie to go up by 2 lengths, only for Furue to answer with a long iron to 2 feet birdie for licensed birdie in the 13th.
Thais came back in the 14th, using the firm ground to her advantage on the right-rear pin. The ball was strung across the green to the edge of the green, then slid the other way with the slope to two feet for an authorized birdie to regain a 2-up margin.
They halves the 15th with the bogey, the 16th with the pars, then Annanarukarn put it away with a winning header in the 17th.
Anannarukarn is Thailand’s first winner on the LPGA Tour this season, a country so strong that it won the international crown two weeks ago without Anannarukarn in the four-man squad.