MILTON KEYNES, England – Ariya Jutanugarn won the Women’s British Open on Sunday at Woburn for her first major championship and fourth LPGA Tour victory of the year.
The 20-year-old Thai player closed with an even-par 72 for a three-stroke victory over American Mo Martin and South Korea’s Mirim Lee. Jutanugarn finished at 16-under 272 on the Marquess Course, the hilly, forest layout that is a big change from the usual seaside layouts in the tournament rotation.
Martin, the 2014 winner at Royal Birkdale, shot a 70. Lee had a 73.
Stacy Lewis was fourth at 11 under after her third straight 70.
The long-hitting Jutanugarn broke through four months after blowing a late lead in the first major championship of the year. In early April in the ANA Inspiration in the California desert, Jutanugarn – at the time, best known for blowing a two-stroke lead with a closing triple bogey in the 2013 LPGA Thailand – bogeyed the final three holes to hand the title to Lydia Ko.
Jutanugarn put the hard lessons to use in May, winning three straight events to become the LPGA Tour’s first Thai champion. And Saturday, she shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 to pull two strokes ahead of Lee and break the tournament 54-hole record of 201.
