P.K. Kongkraphan of Thailand shot a final-round 3-under 70 at the NT$3-million Jing-Mao Ladies Open to pick up her third TLPGA Tour title in 2024 and a 37th career victory.

Kongkraphan continued with her fearless, attacking strategy to conquer the Tsai Hsing Elite Club with a double-digit under par score. She finished with a 54-hole total of 11-under 208, beating 36-hole co-leader An Ho-Yu (安禾佑) and Thai compatriot Wannasiri Sirisampant by two shots.

Overnight co-leader Phoebe Yao (姚宣榆) only finished with a 1-under 72 and dropped into solo fourth finish on 211.

“I felt I was hitting better and better with each round, and especially from the tee, which built a great foundation for me to attack the flag with confidence,” said Kongkraphan, who hit 12 fairways in the final round and converting birdies on all four par-5s.

“The greens are firm, and fast. I believe they play even faster than they were on previous days,” Kongkraphan said, referring to the slopey Tsai Hsing greens that were measured at a speed level of 10.2.

“And it is hard to stop the ball on the greens, so I was being very careful where I should land the ball. I was able to create many birdie and even some eagle chances because of that,” said the Thai. “It was the best final round you could ask for. Everything was pretty much under control. It was a satisfying feeling. If only I could have finished the final hole prettier!” Kongkraphan’s lay-up on the 18th did not bounce forward the way she expected, stopped way too short, and took her another three attempts to finally close the round with a bogey.

This is the second TLPGA season in a row for Kongkraphan in which she notches at least three victories. “It is quite an achievement. I am really happy. I honestly didn’t really come into the week feeling I was going to take this. It is more of having a good perspective of my own game, and sticking to how I wanted to play. The result is pretty sweet,” she added.

An Ho-Yu made an eagle on the 9th hole after an impressive 15-footer, but apart from that, she was not that efficient on the greens, needing 33 putts in total and only carding a 72 to finish equal runner-up. “Yeah, it was a little disappointing the fact that this has been my third runner-up finish this year. Hopefully it gets better next time,” An said.

Sirisampant came out firing on the outward nine sinking birdies on Hole 3, 4, 5, and 9, but a bogey right after the turn on the 10th took all the momentum away. She made another bogey on the 15th before moving back into the second place with a birdie on the par-5 17th.

“I tried to tick every box and implement my game plan to the fullest. I’m happy I could be staying this competitive until the last minute. This is my best week ever in Taiwan and hopefully I’ll have many more weeks like this in the future,” said Sirisampant.

Lin Jie-En (林潔恩) took the low-amateur honor after shooting a Friday 72 to finish in T15 on the final leaderboard. “I still got a lot to improve, particularly from the tees, but I was putting really well this week. I was consistent on the greens all week. That gave me a lot of confidence going forward,” Lin said.

2023 champion Juliana Hung (洪玉霖) shot a low-round 68 and jumped into a T5 finish.

This week, the TLPGA Tour travels to Tsai Hsing Elite Club for the third annual Jing-Mao Ladies Open, title-sponsored by Jing Mao Construction. Kongkraphan’s victory is worth NT$540,000. She also received a porcelain trophy custom-crafted by Franz, and a BESV JG1 e-bike presented by Darfon Electronics.