Chiang Mai native Pimpadsorn Sangkagaro parred the third hole of a sudden play-off to win the 2014 CTBC Ladies Open presented by the CTBC Bank and the CTBC Charity Foundation on Saturday.

A birdie by 16-year-old amateur, Taiwanese Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉) on the 54th hole gave her the lead in the clubhouse with a low round for the tournament 67, before Sangkagaro stormed up the leaderboard with an eagle and a birdie on the back nine to force a play-off.

Both girls went back to the 500-yard 18th at the Orient Golf & Country Club for a sudden death. Sangkagaro had her chance right on the first one, after Cheng’s 18-foot birdie putt rolled past the hole. However, her own birdie putt from 15 feet away proved just centimeters short before both left with pars.

On the second hole, the 25-year-old Thai struggled off the tee and flew her first shot into a sand trap, missing the green in regulation, but carried the green on the fourth shot to pull her back alive when she finally sank an easy 4-footer to par it, while Cheng failed her birdie attempt to close.

It again came down to the putter on the third play-off hole. Cheng’s par putt circled the the cup before agonizingly bouncing out, letting the par-finishing Sangkagaro take home her first China LPGA victory and a fourth professional win. The 2014 CTBC Ladies Open is the first Taiwan CLPGA and China LPGA co-sanctioned event.

Sangkagaro shot a final-round 70, her best in three rounds, in an unexpected beautiful day the organizers had worried to be affected by the nearing Typhoon Feng-Wong and brought forward the tee time, shutting down Cheng’s attempt for a fourth TLPGA Tour title. Cheng’s 67 was also her three-day best and the lowest for the tournament, but it was not enough.

After the lip-out, Cheng couldn’t help her tears all the way back to the clubhouse. “It was a release after all the pressure. At the same time, I was still mad at myself how I missed that 5-footer,” said Cheng. “But there are definitely a lot of positives to take.” Cheng’s next event will be the Incheon Asian Games starting next Monday.

Heading into today with a one-stroke lead and extending it to three with two birdies to kick off the day, China LPGA member Chen Liqing’s (陳利慶) winning hope dimmed quickly as it went on before she finished her last round with an 8-over at 223, dropping to a tie for 11th. It was the 13-year-old amateur Ye Lei (葉雷) who went on top among all Chinese, falling in a tie for 8th with Taiwan’s Chen Meng-Chu (陳孟竺) at 221 after carding a final-round 75.

First-round leader and CTBC bank player Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇淩) had one birdies and three bogeys to finished solo third at 219.

In an inaugural conjunction with the China LPGA, the 2014 CTBC Ladies Open boasts a purse bigger than its two previous editions, increased from NT$3 million to NT$5 million and with the win, Sangkagaro earned herself a prize check worth NT$1 million, her largest paycheck in career.