With sister Ariya cheering along, Moriya Jutanugarn runs away with Portland Classic to capture third LPGA title

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[PHOTO: Alika Jenner]

The Portland Classic was a lifeline opportunity for players buried on the LPGA’s priority list. The 53-year-old tournament was the fourth consecutive week with an event, starting across the Atlantic with the Amundi Evian Championship in early July. With top players either heading to the Olympics or taking a week off, 11-year LPGA veteran Moriya Jutanugarn capitalised by playing the first 71 holes bogey-free, finishing at 22-under for her third career victory.

Here is how Jutanugarn won by two with a closing 66 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

Leaderboard

Win: Moriya Jutanugarn (-22)

T-2: Angel Yin (-20)

T-2: Narin An (-20)

T-2: Nataliya Guseva (-20)

T-5: Polly Mack (-19)

T-5: Sofia Garcia (-19)

T-5: So Mi Lee (-19)

What it means

Jutanugarn celebrated turning 30 a week ago by continuing a mini-Thai run on the LPGA. She’s the third Thai to win in the past five LPGA events, joining Atthaya Thitikul’s Dow Championship and Chanette Wannasaen’s Dana Open titles.

Jutanugarn contended twice in Portland before winning the championship, posting T-3s in 2017 and 2020. The victory is the 2013 rookie of the year’s first solo title since the 2018 JTBC LA Open. Jutanugarn won alongside her younger sister, former world No.1 Ariya Jutanugarn, at the 2021 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

How it happened

The top of the leaderboard was packed until late on the final day. With the final pairing on the fifth hole, there was a six-way tie at the top at 18-under. As they made the turn, it was a five-way tie for the lead at 20-under between ISPS Handa World Invitational winner Alexa Pano, three-time US Solheim Cup veteran Angel Yin, Dutchwoman Dewi Weber and rookies So Mi Lee and Nataliya Guseva.

Players struggled to hold onto the lead for long. Yin took the lead after birdieing the 10th, then fell back after a bogey on the 11th. Narin An, contending for her first LPGA victory in her third year on tour, aced the par-3 16th to leap to 21-under.

Moriya Jutanugarn passed the South Korean with three straight birdies from the 12th through 14th holes to get to 22-under. She escaped the par-3 16th with a crucial sand save, pouring in a 12-footer for par to remain the only player in the field bogey-free.

“Of course, when you make that putt,” Jutanugarn explained, “it felt a lot better and took a lot of pressure off.”

Jutanugarn received a gift to take more pressure off right after the save. The two players a stroke behind, Weber and Guseva, posted a double-bogey on the 15th and a bogey on the 18th, respectively, handing Jutanguarn the first two-stroke lead of the back nine. The world No.132 capitalised with a parked pitching wedge on the 17th for her seventh birdie of the round to pull away by three.

Jutangarn lost her tournament bogey-free run with a missed six-footer for par on the last, giving Yin a last chance to hole out for eagle on the 18th to force a playoff. Jutanguarn looked over from the scoring tent as Yin’s effort nestled on the centre of the green.

Aussie watch

Grace Kim was in the picture for much of the week, especially after starting 66-65. A pair of 70s on the weekend saw her share ninth place at 17-under. Robyn Choi (T-39), Gabi Ruffels (T-52) and Hira Naveed (T-60) all saw weekend action but finished well down the leaderboard.

Best of the rest

US Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis shared in her pre-tournament press conference that she asked her on-the-bubble players to play in Portland this week to try to prove their case to join the team, as the American roster will be finalised in two more events after the AIG Women’s Open on August 26. Three of them came through with top-10s in Portland. Andrea Lee and Lauren Coughlin finished T-9, bolstering their Solheim Cup point totals to tighten their grip on roster spots. Lee (seventh) and Coughlin (fifth) hold two of the final three automatic qualifying positions. Yin, who missed the early part of the season with a foot injury, earned her best result of 2024 with a T-2 to build a case for a captain’s pick.

Polly Mack, the longest hitter on the LPGA (283.7 yards/259.4 metres), earned her best career LPGA finish of T-5. The German had missed six straight cuts before last week’s CPKC Women’s Open with a T-39.

Quotable

“Every win is special,” Jutanguarn said. “It’s kind of been a long time since my last win. To be in contention for the last few days, it’s kind of nice. I feel like I haven’t been in contention for a little while. So It’s, you know, like how to keep you on your toes and exciting.”