Final Round Coverage of The Honda LPGA Thailand
PATTAYA, Feb 19 - Final round coverage of the Honda LPGA Thailand will air at 3 p.m. EST on the U.S. Golf Channel.Yani Tseng plays alongside Michelle Wie in final pairing.
YANI TSENG, -15, Rolex Rankings No. 1
MICHELLE WIE, -10, Rolex Rankings No. 11
Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng shot 6-under-par 66 on Sunday to win the season-opening Honda LPGA Thailand by five shots over Michelle Wie. The 22-year-old began her 2011 season with victories on the Ladies European Tour (LET) at the Australian Open and Australian Ladies Masters in consecutive weeks prior to this week’s LPGA season opener. She is projected to retain the No. 1 spot in women’s professional golf entering next week’s HSBC Women’s Champions. Tseng has now teed it up four times in 2011, including a small professional event in Taiwan, with four victories.
The overnight leader, Tseng kept herself in contention with six birdies in her first 13 holes before her first-and-only blemish of the day at 14, where she made bogey. She rebounded with a birdie at 15 and never looked back, claiming her sixth-career LPGA Tour victory at 15-under-par 273. With the win, Tseng earns $217,500 and an early lead on the LPGA Official Money List and Rolex Player of the Year race.
Yani Tseng, Michelle Wie and Karrie Webb punched their “Ticket to Titleholders” at the Honda LPGA Thailand. By virtue of their top-three finishes, Tseng, Wie and Webb each earned a spot in the season-ending Titleholders event, to be held Nov. 17-20, 2011 at Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Fla. The inaugural Titleholders, a season finale with a field made up of three qualifiers from every official LPGA Tour tournament, is a format never previously used in professional golf. Despite tying with Paula Creamer for third place, Webb qualifies with a lower final round score.
Michelle Wie earned runner-up honors at 10-under-par 278 on Sunday. The long-hitting Hawaiian shot 2-under-par 70 playing alongside winner Yani Tseng in the day’s final group. Wie, a two-time LPGA winner, banks $140,360 with the second-place finish.
Tseng is going to Canyon Ranch. With her victory at the 2011 Honda LPGA Thailand, Yani Tseng earned an all-inclusive stay for two at a Canyon Ranch resort. In a combined effort to promote health and overall well-being among Tour players, Canyon Ranch will provide every winner of an LPGA event with one all-inclusive stay at one of Canyon Ranch’s two destination resorts.
Of note… I.K. Kim was in contention until the 17th hole where she carded a quintuple-bogey 9. She finished the week in a tie for third with Karrie Webb after tying the tournament-record on Thursday with a 9-under-par 63… Defending champion Ai Miyazato tied for 29th at 4-over-par 292, 25 shots worse than last year… 15-year-old Thai amateur Ariya Juntanugarn tied for eighth at 3-under-par 285.
Yani Tseng, -15
MIKE SCANLAN: We’d like to welcome the 2011 Honda LPGA Thailand champion, Yani Tseng. Yani, you came into this week having won each of the last two weeks on the LET. Did you really think you would make it three-in-a-row this week?
YANI TSENG: I don’t know. I just tried my best and I know I had lots of confidence, but with all the great golfers out here, you never know until the last putt drops in. I really enjoyed the tournament this week.
Q. Talk about your round today. You played really well, 6-under-par 66, but I.K. and Michelle were on your heels all day. Did you feel some pressure from them?
YANI TSENG: Yes, for sure, especially the first hole when Michelle chipped in with the big crowd. It was crazy. I know I needed to stay patient. All day, I was patient and focused and I just tried to control what I could control.
Q. On the 18 tee, you had a five shot lead. How good did it feel knowing the tournament was yours?
YANI TSENG: It feels really good. I wanted to make a birdie. Michelle and I and I.K., we pushed each other really hard all day.
Q. Do you start to believe that you are the best player in the world now?
YANI TSENG: It’s getting much better. It feels really good. I have lots of confidence and I’m looking forward to next week to see if I can win.
Q. You’re the first player to qualify for the season-ending Titleholders event. How good does it feel knowing you’ll be in the final event of the season with this victory?
YANI TSENG: I feel no pressure now. I can’t wait until that final tournament.
Q. This is your third week playing in a row. How are you feeling physically?
YANI TSENG: Not really tired. I feel very excited every week. I just focused on this week. I think to myself, last week has passed. Don’t put pressure on this week. Next week is a new week and I’ll enjoy it.
MICHELLE WIE, -10
Q. 10-under-par, the runner-up, how’d you play?
MICHELLE WIE: I feel like I played good out there today, but on the back-nine I just didn’t make anything. Yani played fantastic. She played like a rock star out there. She made every single putt and zero mistakes. Congrats to her. I think she played awesome. Hopefully next week more putts will go in for me.
Q. How’s it feel to get a runner-up finish under your belt in the first week of the season?
MICHELLE WIE: I think it’s pretty good. A lot better than last year. Obviously, a little disappointing, but like I said, I feel like I played well today and hopefully next week I’ll keep the momentum going.
Credit: Pattaya Daily News (www.pattayadailynews.com)
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