Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn carded a closing six-under-par 66 on Sunday to win the Portland Classic for her third career LPGA Tour title and first individual victory in more than six years.
Jutanugarn finished with a total of 22-under-par 266 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club, two shots ahead of Korean Narin An, American Angel Yin and Nataliya Guseva.
This was Jutanugarn’s first individual victory since the 2018 Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship (then known as the HUGEL-JTBC LA Open). She also won the team format Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in 2021 with younger sister Ariya.
“Of course I’m very happy; I think it’s been a while since I’ve been in contention. To be honest, like the last two seasons wasn’t really good. But keep working on something and I guess the hard work, it paid off,” said Jutanugarn.
“Earlier this year I starting to work with a new swing coach. Also, everything is getting to be a little bit better, and then pretty much working on how I feel and how I want to be on the golf course,” added the 30-year-old.
Three strokes behind 54-hole-leader and 2022 champion Andrea Lee of the United States going into the final round, Jutanugarn nailed seven birdies in a near-flawless performance. The Thai player made her only bogey of the tournament at the very last hole, the par-four 18th, where she sent her approach shot over the green and missed an eight-foot putt for par.
Jutanugarn fell just short of joining the Korean duo of Jin Young Ko (2019 CPKC Women’s Open) and Inbee Park (2015 HSBC Women’s World Championship) as the only bogey-free winners in 72-hole LPGA Tour events over the last 30 years
Paraguay’s Sofia Garcia, South Korea’s So Mi Lee and Germany’s Polly Mack finished joint fifth on 19-under-par, one shot ahead of 36-hole leader Dewi Weber of the Netherlands.
Lee, who won this event in 2022 for her sole LPGA Tour title, had a disappointing closing round of 74. She settled for joint ninth place on 17-under-par with four players, including Ariya Jutanugarn and American Lauren Coughlin who won last week’s CPKC Women’s Open.
With the Olympic women’s golf competition taking place in Paris this week, the lone Olympian competing in Portland was India’s Aditi Ashok who finished tied 22nd on 14-under-par.
Malaysia’s Kelly Tan endured another missed cut following rounds of 70 and 75. The halfway cut came at five-under-par.
