P.K. Kongkraphan from Thailand used a final-round 68 to take the victory at the 2023 WPG Ladies Open. Her final total of 10-under 206 is three shots lower than runner-up Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇).

The 72-hole event was shortened to 54-hole after a washout on Day 3.

Overnight leader Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳) nearly lost the plot in the intense final round battle with four players within just three shots of difference. Fortunately, she righted the ship by the very end, closing the round with three consecutive birdies and wrapping up the week in a tie for fourth with Babe Liu (劉嬿).

Kongkraphan, who started the day one shot behind Chang, took over the lead on the 3rd hole, where she made her first birdie of the day, and didn’t look back ever since.

“I think the key for me today was my birdie on the 9th hole. I decided to take out the 3-wood and putted it from off the green on my third shot, which rolled to just four feet. I took that birdie, and it gave me a three-shot cushion at the turn, which helped me to stay even more relaxed on the rest of the day,” said the Thai. “The air was a little damp, slight drizzles around the noon, not the best conditions. But I tried not to get affected by all the factors and just concentrated on my game. I thought I played a great, high-percentage golf throughout the day.”

“I really enjoyed my first visit at the Sunrise this week. It’s in very good shape and I like the difficulty. I always like the challenges,” said Kongkraphan, whose last round of 68 was composed of five birdies and one bogey.

This marks the first TLPGA Tour victory for the 31-year-old. Her best finish on the TLPGA Tour prior to this week was runner-up showings at the 2012 Fubon Ladies Open and 2013 Hitachi Ladies Classic.

Kongkraphan remains a dominant force on her home tour, making history by winning seven tournaments in a row across the end of 2022 to the 2023 season. She also has nine years of experience on the U.S. soil. Most notable result was a victory on the LPGA’s Symetra Tour (now Epson Tour) in 2013.

Unlike Kongkraphan, Chang Ya-Chun’s nervy start saw her drop six shots through the first eight holes before she finally stopped the bleeding on the 9th hole with a birdie. “I was a little tight on the front nine. Couldn’t find my range at all,” said Chang. “The birdie on the 9th was an important confidence-booster. It was a bitter final round but I’m just happy with how strong I closed the round with three birdies.” She left the front-nine turmoil completely behind her, picking up a total of four birdies and committing just one bogey after the turn.

The final-round 74 knocked her final total down to 5-under 211, tying Babe Liu, who carded a 3-under 69 today.

Shih Cheng-Hsuan painfully settled for her second consecutive runner-up finish here at the WPG Open. In fact, she has been this close to winning on seven occasions last year, plus once more in 2021 at the Wistron Open. Shih was two shots back of lead entering the final round today and closed with a cool and steady 70 by registering three birdies and just one bogey to finish at 7-under 209.

Also carding a 70 was Japan’s Yuna Arakawa, whose final score improved to 6-under 210. Wang Li-Ning (王莉甯) was the player of the day with a superb 65 composed of one eagle, seven birdies, and two bogeys. She averaged 272.5 yards today on the tee and needed just 26 attempts on the greens, sending her from equal seventeenth straight into solo sixth.

Kongkraphan’s victory is worth NT$2 million in the NT$10 million event. Her compatriot Nanon Srisawang took out her 6-iron and holed it out from 163 yards on the 16th hole, which won her a bonus cash prize of NT$100,000. Srisawang closed with a Saturday 70 to finish inside the top-20.

Liao Hsin-Chun (廖信淳) secured the low-amateur honor with a Saturday 73. She finished the tournament in T13 at 4-over 220.

Heavy rains at the Sunrise did not allow any play to tee off in Friday’s third round, which shortened the 72-hole event into 54-hole. This is the first year the WPG Ladies Open is expanded into a 72-hole format in its four-year history.

WPG, an ESG-friendly, global-leading distributor of semiconductor components, is hoping the raise in prize money (more than doubling the 2020 prize pool) and the extended four-round schedule will help local players to get a feel of taking part in a global event of the highest prestige, and better prepare themselves for their future pursuit into higher calibre.