Honda LPGA Thailand: Amy Yang Edges Out Stacy Lewis

Apr 4, 2014; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA; Amy Yang tees off on the thirteenth hole in the second round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship golf tournament at Mission Hills Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Stacy Lewis went into the final round at the Honda LPGA Thailand with a one-shot lead over Amy Yang but it wasn’t quite enough to absorb her double on the par-4 15th. Even though Yang went bogey-birdie-bogey on the 14th, 15th and 16th holes she still went into the last two holes two shots ahead of Lewis, who tried but just couldn’t manage to tie it up and take Yang into a playoff.

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This was Yang’s second Tour victory. The first one came for the 16th ranked South Korean-Australian two years ago at the 2013 LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship. But even before that win, Yang showed extraordinary promise when she became the youngest-ever LET winner when as a 17-year old amateur she claimed the victory at the ANZ Ladies Masters in 2006.

Although she’s played below the top of the board for several years, Yang may have discovered her rhythm now. She’s finished in the top-5 in the last 5 events she’s entered and is projected to move up to 11th in the Rolex Rankings. She’s the 4th South Korean-born player to win on the LPGA Tour this year, joining Na Yeon Choi (Coates Golf Championship), rookie Sei Young Kim (Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Championship) and top-ranked Lydia Ko (ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open).

How did Amy Yang feel when the last putt dropped?

"Oh, I was so nervous. But I saw the ball fall in and I thought feels like it’s dream. It’s a great feeling."

Stacy Lewis is no stranger to the runner-up position, and in many respects her finish in Thailand is reminiscent of her performance last year, when Lewis consistently played near the top of the board until she finally found her first 2014 victory at the North Texas LPGA Shootout, then went on to nail two more wins and climb to the top of the Rolex Rankings.

For me, the bigger story is Yani Tseng’s performance. Tseng, who dominated the world rankings three years ago, has been struggling through a terrible slump in her game, and yet she’s played on, only occasionally showing just a glimpse of the championship golfer I enjoyed watching make her way around some of the world’s finest tracks.

Yani Tseng

With some changes to her coaching team, Tseng’s game seems to have a new energy. She carded rounds of 66, 72, 70 and 67 in Thailand to finished at 13-under par, alongside Stacy Lewis and Mirim Lee, in tied runner-up position. She was long and strong off the tee and, with the exception of the 2nd round, where she couldn’t seem to hit a straight ball, she was in control of her game. Even with her 2nd round loss of directional control, her work on the putting surface was consistent and actually saved her from sliding up into black numbers. Could Yani Tseng be getting her game back? If so, we could see some big changes to the top-of-the-leaderboard dynamic in coming tournaments.

My Fantasy Picks: A Look-Back

I looked for Jenny Shin and Gerina Piller — both hunting their first Tour victory and both playing strong games — to play near the top of the board at the Honda LPGA Thailand. I missed the mark. Shin finished at 7-under and T27th, alongside Lexi Thompson, Mika Miyazato, Hyo Joo Kim and Kim Kaufman.

Piller finished even further down the board and in black numbers, at 2-over par, alongside Line Vedel. Good that I didn’t have any money riding on my picks!

I also looked for rookie Ariya Jutanugarn to play at the top of the board. I thought Jutanugarn had a very good chance of claiming an historical home-soil victory, and for the first two rounds that prediction had merit. Jutanugarn went into the third round at 8-under par, trailing Lewis’s 14-under lead but nontheless on the front page of the leaderboard. Then things fell apart in her 3rd round and despite a 4th round 67 Jutanugarn just couldn’t make up the distance she’d dropped. She finished at 8-under and T13th, a respectable finish for the rookie but in many respects a disappointing one, both for Jutanugarn personally and for the Thai fans.

Coming Up

With the Honda LPGA Thailand in the record books, the Tour travels now to Singapore and the HSBC Women’s Championship, the site of Paula Creamer’s putt seen ’round the world, before returning to the US mainland and the JTBC Founder’s Cup. I’ll preview the Women’s Championship early this coming week.

Follow me on Twitter @bethbethel and I’ll notify you when I publish commentary and updates.

Next: Is The PGA Trying to Kill the Caddies?

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