Ahn Song-yi wins ADT CAPS Championship in her 237th appearance
Ahn Song-yi hits a tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the ADT CAPS Championship 2019 at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Sunday. Ahn won the KLPGA for the first time since her professional debut in 2008. /Yonhap
By Kim Jeong-kyoo
Ahn Song-yi held off rookie Lee Ga-young's dogged challenge after a seesaw race, winning the ADT CAPS Championship, Sunday.
Winning the season finale brought Ahn her maiden career victory in her 237th appearances over 10 years on the KLPGA Tour. In her previous 236 bids, she finished runner-up three times.
The 30-year-old put up a roller-coaster final-round battle for a wire-to-wire single stroke victory as she lapped the field with a round of one-under 71 in chilly conditions.
She had previous rounds of 67 and 69 to close 54 holes with a nine-under 207 at the 6,632-yard par-72 Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.
She took home the 120 million won winner's check, elbowing the chosen 81-woman field out of the way.
“I thought I would not shed tears when I notch a title, but find myself crying once I really obtain the crown. Having the patience to wait until birdying the ninth helped me triumph. I feel like I'm on cloud nine. I feel like I'm dreaming,” she said with her eyes full of tears in a post-round interview. “I want to say to my father today, 'I love you' as I never told him before. He never stopped supporting and encouraging me.”
Entering the final round, Ahn had a single-stroke advantage over rookie Lee Ga-young at seven-under. Lurking threateningly behind within striking distance were rookie Park Hyun-kyung and eight others, all itching to supplant the overnight leader. The last 18 holes shaped up to be a free-for-all. And as expected, competitors put up a seesaw final-round battle from the start of the fight.
The champion was an understandably bouncy and triumphant figure, her body language brimming with lively optimism. The tense final-round pressure did not get to her. Noting could dampen her optimism or erode her confidence throughout the day.
Ahn started the day with a par on the first hole. Despite Lee So-young's stunning eagle on the opening hole, she did not look thunderstruck and stayed poised and calm.
As she continued a train of two pars, however, Lee Ga-young birdied the second to pull up even with her.
Ahn faced her first crisis when she pulled her tee shot into the left rough on a steep slope on the par-5 fifth before failing to hit her following three shots the way she wanted. A bogey loomed ahead. However, she converted a long putt into a spurring par, continuing her train of five pars in precarious fashion.
She incurred her first bogey on the par-3 seventh, dropping down into a three-way for the lead with Park Min-ji and Lee Ga-young at seven-under.
Ahn converted a long putt into a birdie on the ninth to play the front nine in 36 before reaching the turn at eight-under and sharing the lead with Park and Lee.
She found herself the sole leader when she got up and down for par on the 10th, as co-leader Lee incurred a bogey on the same hole.
Ahn rattled off her second birdie of the day on the par-5 11th, holding onto her one-stroke lead over Lee. Then, she jointly led the field with Lee when the latter reeled in a back-to-back birdie on the par-4 12th.
Getting through the intimidating par-3 13th surrounded by water without incident, she found the battle turned into a duel between her and Lee. Seeking their first career victories on the KLPGA Tour, they were three strokes clear of other rivals.
Ahn hit her 156-meter approach decently, setting up a chance for a birdie on the par-4 14th. Shockingly, however, she made a fatal three-putt bogey to give up her joint lead to Lee with four holes to play. The bogey looked like it all but dashed her hopes of crown.
At a critical point, however, she rattled off a crucial birdie from way long range on the par-4 16th to make up the joint lead with Lee.
Then, on the 17th, she got back her sole lead when she got up and down for par while Lee bogeyed. Lee picked up her putter to roll her ball too short from roughly 20 yards off the green, incurring a critical bogey with a two-putt.
On the par-5 penultimate hole, Ahn sent her ball safely onto the green while Lee set up a chance to birdie. Ahn went first, making a two-putt par. She capped the tournament with a tap-in par before watching Lee mistakenly pushed her birdie putt right of the hole in a jerking motion.
For rookie Lee Ga-young, 20, this wasn't how the final round of the tournament was supposed to go. At one point, she was an outright leader, sharing the lead five times as she put up a seesaw final-round battle. When she took the initiative in the duel on the 14th where Ahn incurred a bogey, she looked set to win. However, she had a bogey thrust on her on the 17th and failed to force Ahn into a playoff on the last hole as she missed her birdie try.
Rookies Park Hyun-kyung and Lim Hee-jeong shared third with defending champion Park Min-ji.
Now, the Korea LPGA Tour season ends officially despite the Hyosung Championship with SBS Golf scheduled to take place in Vietnam in early December. The KLPGA Tour takes roughly a three-month hiatus before resuming in April.