Another tough round saw Olivia Mehaffey finish in a share of 55th at the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup on the Ladies European Tour as she closed with a one-over 73 at Siam Country Club.
The Tandragee woman had given herself a chance at the title with a dazzling eight-under 64 on day two in Chonburi, Thailand, but her weekend performance left a lot to be desired as she slid down the leaderboard with her third 73 of the tournament.
Saturday’s one-over was backed up by three bogeys and two birdies in her final round as she finished the week at five-under-par, a whopping 15 shots adrift of winner Ratchanon Chantananuwat, the stunning 15-year-old amateur producing an incredible four-under back nine for a one-shot win over Joohyung Kim.
It’s back to the drawing board now for Mehaffey after another tournament that promised much but failed to deliver, with her start to her first full season as a pro having been rather up and down.
She’s made the cut in three of her four events – all three on the LET – but has failed to produce that dynamite performance at the weekend, with her best finish tied-18th.
This was another case in point, Mehaffey starting at the 10th in her final round in Chonburi and bogeying the 12th, before adding a birdie on 18 to turn in level. However, bogeys at the third and fifth would see her finish over-par for the third time this week, with a birdie at the eighth mere consolation.
Meanwhile, Chantananuwat looks like a star for the future as he claimed the victory against a fairly talented field with an amazing back nine run, carding five birdies in his last eight holes to lift the trophy.
The Thai teen ended his tournament with a seven-under 65 to reach 20-under-par, two shots clear of Kim to claim his first professional title, albeit without the prize money given he still holds amateur status, and put the world on red alert to his talent.
Kim’s brilliant 64 in his final round, which included an eagle on the par-five 18th, saw him finish solo second at 18-under, with America’s Paul Peterson and Korea’s Bio Kim – the overnight leader – rounding out the podium a shot further back.
Former Irish Open champion John Catlin also had a good weekend as rounds of 66 and 67 saw him claim solo fifth at 16-under.
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