Patty Tavatanakit Claims ANA Inspiration

A stunning day of golf concluded with Patty Tavatanakit claiming her first Major title by two shots at the ANA Inspiration.

Patty Tavatanakit Claims ANA Inspiration

Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit managed to hold off a charging Lydia Ko in the final round of the ANA Inspiration.

Tavatanakit had started the round five shots clear of Ally Ewing and Mirim Lee, but despite being three-under-par through the front nine, found herself only two-shots clear of Ko.

Tavatanakit produced a final round 68 to claim her maiden Major. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

The 21-year-old, who hadn’t won on the LPGA Tour, started her round perfectly with a chip-in eagle at the second.

However, despite a birdie at the eighth, Tavatanakit found her lead cut down to two shots, this was due to a phenomenal front nine from Ko.

Starting her round with a birdie and an eagle, the New Zealander then birdied the fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth for a front nine of 29.

Further birdies followed at the 10th and 11th before a long putt at the 15th dropped in to move Ko to 10-under-par for her round.

Ko tied the ANA Inspiration record with a final round 62. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Tavatanakit wasn’t phased though, producing a birdie at the 12th hole, before near chip-ins at the 14th and 17th meant she would have a two-shot lead going up the 18th hole.

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Finding the green comfortably on the par-5 18th, Tavatanakit two-putted for her first Major victory in what was a thrilling final round.

Speaking after her round, Tavatanakit said: “I had no idea what Lydia was doing today, I didn’t look at the leaderboard at all. I saw her name up there, but I just focused on my own game which I did really well.

“I just kept hitting good shots and overall I just stuck to my game plan. It was tough mentally and there was a lot going on. I was really nervous through the first seven holes, but I kept walking into the shots a bit slower to calm myself down and that was really important for today.

“It’s a dream come true, I was on this green receiving my low amateur award (in 2018) and I recorded a Snapchat and captioned it ‘one day’ and it’s just been crazy.”

Tavatanakit had led the tournament from the very first round, with four rounds in the 60’s meaning the Thai will now move inside the top-100 of the world rankings.

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