Patty Tavatanakit won her first European Tour title with victory at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International as England’s Charley Hull finished in a tie for third.
Tavatanakit came into the final round with a three-shot lead and was not challenged on Sunday as she carded seven under 65 to match her first-round score.
Germany’s Esther Henseleit was seven shots off the lead in second as Hull tied on nine under overall to take joint-third with Japan’s Minami Katsu.
Hull came into the final day on seven under and four shots behind Tavatanakit but three bogeys on the sixth, 10th and 16th allowed Katsu to jump into the top three after she recorded the joint-best score of the day with a round of 65.
No one could get close to Tavatanakit though, whose only other professional win came at the then-named 2021 ANA Inspiration – the opening women’s major of the year.
“It’s been a long time since I played this good. It’s very emotional, with how I overcame that. I just took it one day at a time and I worked really hard to get here and play so solid all week.
“I want to thank my team. I’m so grateful for the people I have around me in my life. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. I’m soaking it all in. It’s just incredible, unreal.”
Tavatanakit eagled the fifth and made six birdies as she completed a wire-to-wire tournament, with the team pouring water over her as she completed her final round.
The Thai player revealed she’s cut out sugar and fried food this year, which may have contributed to her dominant performance.
“I feel really good and continue to do that as long as I can,” she said.
“If anything, I feel I’ve grown so much over the past couple of years as a person on and off the course. I’ll continue to grow and learn which is all you can do.
As for Hull, bogeys on the sixth and 10th cost her a chance at second place but she kept her cool by making par at the final two holes, following a third birdie of the day to hold onto third place.
The Ladies European Tour continues this week with the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, with the LPGA Tour in Thailand. A week later, the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore begins on February 29 to March 3 – live on Sky Sports Golf.
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Source : Sky Sports
