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A former U.S. Women's Open champ gets first win in eight years while two former World No. 1s have encouraging finishes in Taiwan
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South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji won the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship by six strokes over former Rolex World No. 1, Lydia Ko. It’s Ji’s first win on the LPGA since her win at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open. Ji, who’s from Seoul but now lives in Florida, took the lead after the first round, shooting a six-under 66 at Miramar Golf Club. She finished with rounds of 71, 69 and 65, never seriously being threatened as finally ended her lengthy winless streak.
“I’m so happy and excited because I haven’t won for the past eight years,” said Ji, who’s in her 11th season on tour. “So I was waiting for this moment for so long, I’m super happy right now.”
Though Ko closed strong with weekend rounds of 68 and 65, Ji’s lead was too great to overcome. Ji, 31, made just three bogeys all week, on her way to shooting 17 under for the week. The six-shot triumph ties for the largest victory margin on the LPGA this season.
Like Ko, current World No. 1 So Yeon Ryu shot 65 in the final round. She finished in a five-way tie for third at seven under.
A little bit further down the leader board, a familiar name popped up with a better finish than usual. Former World No. 1 Yani Tseng, playing back at home in Taiwan, had a stronger week. ON the back nine of the final round, she went eagle-birdie-birdie to put herself into the top five on the leader board. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old made a double bogey and a bogey coming in and finished T-17. Still, the finish is a step in the right direction for Tseng, who has been struggling this year, missing 15 cuts.
“I missed this feeling, and I really want to thank all the fans who came out today to give me great support,” Tseng said. “I really appreciate it and I feel the nerves and I feel the pressure, but it was great pressure and good nerves. I haven’t had that for a while.”