Ryann O’Toole Secures First LPGA Tour Win In 228th Start

Ryann O'Toole held off a star studded field to secure her first ever LPGA Tour title at the Women's Scottish Open.

Ryann O’Toole Secures First LPGA Tour Win In 228th Start

The American, who has been a member of the LPGA Tour since 2011, held off the likes of Lydia Ko, Charley Hull and Ariya Jutanugarn to secure the title by three shots.

O’Toole, who was making her 228th start on the Tour, had started the final round in a three-way share of the lead with Hull and Jutanugarn.

Jutanugarn was looking to make it a hattrick of wins in 2021. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

She would come out of the blocks firing though, with birdies at the 1st, 2nd and 4th giving her a one shot lead.

That slim advantage would continue to stay at one, with the American making further birdies at the 7th and 9th to keep slightly ahead of Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul.

At the 13th, Thitikul would join O’Toole in a share of the lead, rolling in a short birdie putt to get to 14-under-par.

The 34-year-old would fire back once again though, with a birdie of her own at the 13th being followed by another at the 15th to give her a two-shot cushion.

As the chasing pack failed to make any inroads over the final few holes, O’Toole gave herself further breathing room, holing another superb putt at the par-4 17th to extend her two shot advantage to three going down the 72nd hole.

Playing the final hole to perfection, the American would tap-in her par putt to secure the first LPGA Tour win of her career.

Speaking after her round, O’Toole said: “I still think I’m in shock. I feel like the tears are going to come later when it all quietens down. The heartbreak that this sport brings and the constant travel, I just feel like, with this moment, that it happens again and again.”

Olympic bronze medallist, Lydia Ko, produced one of the rounds of the day on Sunday, with a hole out eagle at the last securing joint second alongside Thitikul.

Ko, who had started four shots back of O’Toole, made five birdies on the front nine, with a further two birdies and an eagle securing a nine-under-par final round and 14-under-par tournament total.

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