Thailand’s Thitikul and China’s Yin capture LPGA pairs title

Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-3 18th hole on Sunday to give herself and China’s Yin Ruoning the victory at the LPGA Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

The 21-year-old Asian stars combined for an eight-under-par 62 in the four-ball final round at Michigan’s Midland Country Club to finish 72 holes on 22-under 258 and edge Americans Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing by one stroke.

“We just had a lot of fun,” Yin said. “We keep each other accountable.”

Yin and Atthaya each made four birdies on the round, with Atthaya sinking three of hers on par-3 holes, the most tension-packed at the last.

“I was so nervous,” Atthaya said of the final putt. “I knew this putt was for both of us. I wanted to make it so bad and I made it for us.”

Atthaya collected her third career LPGA title after the 2022 JTBC Classic and 2022 Northwest Arkansas Championship.

Yin also took her third career LPGA triumph after the 2023 LA Open and the 2023 Women’s PGA Championship, her first major victory.

Teams played alternate shot in the first and third rounds and four-ball in the second and fourth rounds of the $3 million pairs event.

Ewing and Kupcho fired a 64 to finish second with third shared on 261 by the Danish duo of Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Nicole Broch Estrup, who closed with a 63, and the South Korean pairing of Kang Hae-ji and Kim In-kyung, who shot 65.

Sharing fifth on 262 were England’s Charley Hull and Georgia Hall and the pairing of Australian Grace Kim and American Auston Kim.