Ariya Jutanugarn defends the Junior PGA Championship successfully
Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn birdied each of the last four holes in the final round of the 37th Junior PGA Championship to successfully defend the title at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club on Friday, August 3, 2012.
Last year, the 16-year-old won the title with a historical 10-stroke margin. This year, the margin was not that big, but it definitely was an impressive win, as she led the tournament throughout the four rounds.
Jutanugarn started off her final round campaign with a shared lead with Samantha Wagner at nine-under par overall score. She birdied three of the first five holes that she played. Three bogeys between the 9th and 13th hole took her
one stroke back to Wagner.
However, Wagner bogeyed the 15th hole and Jutanugarn took advantage of it by firing a birdie on the same hole to take the lead once again.
Thereafter, she did not stop and continuously increased her lead until the 72 holes completed in the tournament.
With this win, she became the only player to win the same title in two consecutive years since In-Bee Park did it in 2001 and 2002. In addition to that, it was her second straight win this season, as she also won the Canadian's Women's Amateur last week.
"This year was very different and the girls were all playing so well," Jutanugarn said. "I was looking at all the scoreboards and I knew I needed to make birdies at the end to win. ... I was not driving the ball well all week until today. My driver actually
helped me. I am so proud of how I played. Last year I wanted to play good, but this year I had to win”.
Jutanugarn and Wagner both earned points for the Junior Ryder Cup team, as the tournament awards points only to the top two players in each of the divisions – boys and girls division.
According to Wagner, she needed to have recorded few more birdies in order to create her chances of a win in the event. Yet, she was happy to get a chance in the Junior Ryder Cup.
“I only had one birdie (on last four holes) and she birdied the last four, so that sealed it," Wagner said. "But I played well all week and now I get to play in the Junior Ryder Cup. I am so excited about that opportunity".
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