Ariya Jutanugarn helped launch Thailand as an rising energy in ladies’s golf when she gained the British Women’s Open in 2016.
The victory impressed youthful golfers in Thailand and the outcomes have been evident throughout a dominating efficiency on the International Crown workforce match play occasion.
Ariya Jutanugarn gained the MVP after teaming together with her sister Moriya Jutanugarn to win all 5 matches and 20-year-old Atthaya Thitikul capped an ideal weekend with a birdie on the sixteenth gap that clinched the championship for Thailand over Australia on Sunday.
“I would say when I’m growing up, when I’m turning pro, I always want to inspire the kids back home, and right now I feel even better because not only me right now,” Ariya Jutanugarn mentioned.
It was a complete workforce effort.
Thitikul beat Stephanie Kyriacou 4 and a couple of to enhance to 5-0 on the week and earn the clinching level within the closing. Patty Tavatanakit had already crushed Hannah Green 4 and three within the different singles match.
The Jutanugarns gained their match over Minjee Lee and Sarah Kemp 4 and three when Ariya Jutanugarn holed out a chip shot from the sting of the inexperienced on the fifteenth gap as sixth-seeded Thailand completed the week successful 11 of 12 matches.
“Us winning this event is huge for golf in Thailand,” Tavatanakit mentioned. “It is already growing, and I think this is going to inspire a lot of people, even more than what we feel inspired 10 years ago. I’m really excited to see the future of Thai golf.”
The United States beat Sweden within the comfort match to complete third.
The International Crown is a match-play event that includes groups of 4 gamers from eight international locations break up into two swimming pools. The prime two groups from every pool superior to the semifinals, the place the format was two singles matches and one alternate-shot match.
The gamers on the successful workforce all obtained $125,000 in prize cash with the runners up getting $75,900.
It was a breakthrough weekend for Thailand, which had by no means completed higher than fourth within the first three editions of this event.
But the Thai workforce was dominant at Harding Park as the one nation to win each match in pool play after which delivering a dominating championship match after surviving a good semifinal towards the United States earlier within the day.
The top-seeded Americans break up the 2 singles matches towards Thailand with Lexi Thompson shedding 3 and a couple of to Thitikul and Lilia Vu combating again from a two-hole deficit on the entrance 9 to beat Tavatanakit 1 up.
That put the destiny of the semifinal on a good alternate-shot match between world No. 1 Nelly Korda and Danielle Kang towards the Jutanugarn sisters.
Korda tied the match with an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-4 sixteenth gap, producing chants of “U-S-A!” from the first rate sized galleries.
But the Jutanugarn sisters weren’t flustered with Moriya Jutanugarn hitting her tee shot to inside about 10 toes, establishing a birdie putt for Ariya Jutanugarn that put Thailand again forward.
Moriya Jutanugarn then obtained her second shot on the par-5 18th gap on the inexperienced, and Thailand two-putted for birdie to tie the outlet and win the match.
“Obviously it’s a little disappointing not being in the final, but I think we played well,” Korda mentioned. “We wish some more putts would have dropped, but overall I think our performance has been pretty good.”
Australia, which had by no means completed higher than sixth on this occasion, swept Sweden within the first semifinal with Kyriacou beating Anna Nordqvist and Hannah Green besting Caroline Hedwall in singles, whereas Minjee Lee and Sarah Kemp beat Madelene Sagstrom and Maya Stark within the alternate shot match.
But they fell quick within the closing.
“It’s obviously a little disappointing, but it’s still a big win for us,” Kemp mentioned.
Thompson beat Sagstrom in singles within the comfort match and the U.S. gained it when Kang and Korda beat Nordqvist and Hedwall 1 up.
This is the fourth time this event has been held after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Spain gained the inaugural event in 2014, adopted by the United States in 2016 and South Korea in 2018.
This is the primary skilled ladies’s occasion to be performed at TPC Harding Park, which has hosted a number of large occasions for the lads, together with the 2009 Presidents Cup and the 2020 PGA Championship.
“It’s been a spectacular venue for us, and I think it shows the women’s game is moving in the right direction,” Thompson mentioned. “We’re getting to play some spectacular golf courses like this one. We’re getting more and more fans each and every day, which we wanted to see, and the course is in great shape for us.”