Leona Maguire made good headway on days two and three at the Maybank Championship, but couldn’t keep up the pace in a final round that saw Ruoning Yin edge out best friend Jeeno Thitikul by a single stroke.
Maguire’s LPGA Tour season has been a little underwhelming by her own very high standards, and a double bogey on the 14th halted her progress having made three birdies and a bogey over the opening 13 holes. She ended the week on a positive by birdieing the par-5 closing hole, and now turns her attention to the Toto Japan Classic next weekend.
At the business end of affairs, China’s Ruoning Yin, Thai Jeeno Thitikul and Haeran Ryu from South Korea were locked together at -16 after 54 holes, and would further distance themselves from the chasing pack over the front nine with Yin’s four birdies giving her a one-stroke lead over Ryu and Thitikul one further back.
And it was an advantage she’d maintain until the 72nd hole, with Thitikul now her closest challenger having made three birdies to Yin’s two, while Ryu bogeyed the 17th to fall two back.
A fortnight ago, Yin shot a final-round of 64 to win her Buick LPGA title in her native Shanghai and capture her first LPGA Tour victory since the Women’s PGA Championship in 2023, and her 72nd hole birdie secured the title in Kuala Lumpur.
“I would say that was a really tough battle out there, and Haeran and Jeeno, they are really, really good and they just bring the best version of myself,” Yin said in her post-event press conference.
“I would say today the key for me is be patient. I had a really good start on the front nine and kind of just like yesterday, slow down a little bit after 12. I have a lot of birdie chances on 14, 15, and 16, even 17.
“So when I missed on 16 green, David my caddie told me, you’re doing good. Just be patient. Putts will drop. So I’m really happy that I stayed patient.”
Yin and Thitikul, who also goes by the first name of Atthaya, are two of the young breed of LPGA stars with the former recently turned 22 and the latter not 22 until February of next year and are close friends.
“It’s really fun actually,” Yin responded when asked how it felt to be taking on her close friend in the final round. “Actually it’s our first time playing together in the final group. I would say she really put a lot of pressure on me, but I think it just another normal day for us.
“I’m sure this won’t be the last time, and I’m sure there will be more battle between us, and so I’m really looking forward for our next battle.”
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