Indigenous golfer Lee Hsin (李欣) came from five strokes down to win the YTS & SUNCITY Heritage Tour at the Suncity Golf Club in Kuan-His, Hsinchu. She used a final-round 1-under 71 to lift her first professional title with a 36-hole total of 145.

Overnight leader Chen Szu-Han (陳思涵) carded 77, finishing just one shot shy. The win is worth NT$71,000. Chen’s runner-up share of prize was NT$45,000.

Starting the day in equal second, Tsai Hsin-En (蔡欣恩) emerged the outright leader after the turn, holding a one-stroke edge over Lee Hsin, Chen, and Lee Chia-Pei (李佳霈). Going in the earlier group, Lee Hsin remained cool in the closing stage, holding onto the final hope with a competitive 145.

Her fate will be decided by the other three women topping the leaderboard. But the trio ultimately melted in high tension.

With just three holes left to the finish line, Tsai made a double-bogey on the 16th which made her the first out of the chase. Lee Chia-Pei fell in similar fashion later when she dropped three shots in the last couple of holes.

Chen, the last woman to hold a chance, failed to make birdie on the last hole to compensate the loss from a Hole 17 bogey.

“I stayed on the practice range to do a few more putting to get ready for the play-off. So, when I heard them call my name, I was like, great, I made the play-off”, Lee Hsin said. “But then, my good friends all came up to spray water on me, and then I realized I just won the whole thing!”

Lee’s 58-degree wedge left her struggling mid-round, but also produced some scorching shot-making in crucial moment. She made three birdies and two bogeys on Wednesday.

Lee reached a new peak of her game in a three-week TLPGA Tour stretch in May at the EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open, SAMPO Ladies Open, and the TLPGA Ladies Open -Nan Pao, where she grabbed the final-round lead before finishing in the top-5 in all three outings. Now, she finally found her in the winner’s circle.

It was Father’s Day in Taiwan. In the award ceremony, Lee thanked her parents for supporting her dream along this lonely road of golf, as well as her coach Huang Yu-Chen. “The win feel like such an important confidence boost. I feel I’m ready to take myself to the next level and I hope this title is just the first of many more to come.”

Sophomore in the Kansas State University, Chou Yi-Tsen (周怡岑), carded a 2-over 74 in the final round despite gastrointestinal illness to finish atop the Group Amateur Women’s 16-25. “I was in so much pain that I had to take medicine before the back-nine started. Luckily, I was allowed to take the cart or I don’t think I was fit enough to complete.”

Chou won convincingly by five shots in her group with an even-par 144, one shot better the pro winner.

Liu Ke-Ai (劉可艾) used her 9-iron to hit her first career ace on the 135-yard 14th. The 16-year old finished in solo third with a 6-over 150. This is the best finish in her six-year amateur career.

Set at 6,067 yards long in this week’s competition, the TLPGA pro-junior event is title-sponsored by the YTS Technology and the Suncity Golf Club.

The YTS Group has been a steady top-3 manufacturer in the airtight window market in Taiwan for over 40 years.