How hard did it take for a Thai golfer to win the LPGA Match Play 2023?

American Pajaree Anannarukarn had to play seven matches in five days when she won the LPGA Match Play - the only individual hole-in-one tournament on the US women's golf tour in the 2023 season.

This year's LPGA Match Play takes place at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas with a prize fund of $1.5 million, curtain falls.

The championship decider on May 28, Anannarukarn defeated Ayaka Furue 3&1, ending at the par-3 17th hole. There, Anannarukarn hit a shot 1.8 meters from the hole while Furue entered a sand trap. The Japanese player hit the ball up, hit the left edge of the target, and bounced nearly 3.6 meters away. With that position, Furue conceded defeat, and the Organizing Committee scored a birdie for Anannarukarn.

And so, Anannarukarn won the championship after 116 holes. If converted to standard rounds, she played approximately 6.5 rounds.

Anannarukarn lifts the LPGA Match Play trophy at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas on May 28. Photo: LPGA Match Play

To reach the final, Anannarukarn defeated Linn Grant after 17 holes in the semifinals. The final two matches took place on the same day, under the hot sun. "Pit play takes a lot of energy, but I am proud when I look back on the hard journey. In it, I persevered and pushed myself to new limits, both physically and mentally," Anannarukarn shared at the ceremony to receive the cup and the prize of 225,000 USD.

With the recent LPGA Match Play results, Anannarukarn won her second LPGA Tour title, the first at the 2021 World Invitational over four days, in a four-round stroke play format. But in her latest victory, she was nearly eliminated in the first stage, which consisted of three group round-robin matches. In the third match, Anannarukarn lost to Karis Davidson.

Both were tied, so they had to play a sudden death extra hole. In that opportunity, Anannarukarn succeeded in paring her opponent on the first round. From then on, she won all four matches, all near the end of the qualifying round.

Anannarukarn turned professional in 2017, two years after joining the LPGA Tour. She turned 24 on May 30.

The LPGA Match Play, which launched in 2021, has a format and schedule similar to the PGA Tour Match Play. The tournament takes place over five days, with 64 players divided into 16 groups. There are seven matches from the starting line to the podium, with the first three days being a round robin, and the remaining two days being a knockout stage – the round of 16 to the final.

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