Jang wins LPGA Taiwan Championship

Golfer Jang Ha-na celebrates after winning the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship in New Taipei city, Taiwan, Sunday. / EPA-Yonhap

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Korean golfer Jang Ha-na, 24, claimed her third career LPGA title, Sunday, seven months after she won the HSBC Women’s Championship in Singapore.

She finished at a 17-under 271, one shot ahead of China’s Shanshan Feng at the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship.

Jang shot a 1-under 71 with three birdies and two bogeys in the fourth round of the tournament at the Miramar Golf Country Club.

She is the first Korean to win three titles this year.

Jang said she was nervous because her rival Feng chased her fiercely.

“Shanshan played really good today,” the Korean golfer was quoted by AP as saying after the victory. “That’s why I got very nervous. And then I’m just simple every hole because weather was just so bad. And then just keep going the fairway and the green.”

Jang shot a 62, the lowest in her LPGA Tour career, on Saturday and took a six-stroke lead over her Chinese rival into the final round.

Her fellow Korean golfer Kim Hyo-joo tied with Canada’s Brooke Henderson for third.

Jang is the third straight Korean golfer to win on the LPGA Tour this year. Kim In-kyung won the Reignwood LPGA Classic in China last week, and Chun In-gee won the Evian Championship in September.

Jang won her first LPGA title in February after winning the Coates Golf Championship. Her victory at the HSBC Championship in Singapore followed next month.

Jang’s winning streak, however, met an unexpected obstacle following an incident in February at the airport in Singapore.

Her competitor Chun injured her waist after a hard-case suitcase dropped by Jang’s father hit Chun. Because of the injury, Chun cancelled her participation in the HSBC Championship.

The incident turned into the clashes between the two golf daddies.

Jang was mired in a controversy following her victory in the HSBC championship. Some fans raised the possibility that Jang’s father intentionally dropped his suitcase to hit his daughter’s rival Chun. The controversy erupted after the open criticism from Chun’s father. In a media interview, he blasted Jang’s father for the incident and claimed that he didn’t apologize to his daughter.

Some fans sided with Chun and alleged that Jang’s father might have pushed his suitcase intentionally toward his daughter’s rival.

In the face of the backlash, Jang suffered from amnesia and was then hospitalized. She didn’t participate in competitions for a month.

On Sunday, Jang celebrated her victory quietly.

Jang has an endorsement deal with BC Card. She became the first LPGA Tour golfer to hit a hole-in-one on a par-4 at the 8th hole during the third round of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic at the Ocean Club.

With Jang’s victory, Korean golfers achieved three straight wins on the recent LPGA Tour.