Jasmine Suwannapura of Thailand overcame a historic round from Lucy Li, sinking an eagle putt on the second play-off hole to emerge with a victory at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday.
Suwannapura forced a play-off with an eagle on her 72nd hole. Then, after a stalemate on the first play-off hole, she calmly sank an eagle after Li had already come up short on her third shot.
"Everything fell into place, you know, right place, right time," Suwannapura said.
In winning the third LPGA tournament of her career, Suwannapura moved up to a projected 27th in the Race to the CME Globe season-long points competition, clinching her a spot at the 2024 CME Group Tour Championship in November.
Having narrowly made the cut after Saturday, Ireland's Leona Maguire finished strongly with a five-under 66 to climb up to seven under and a tie for 37th, ten shots off the summit.
Meanwhile, Li made history on Sunday by matching two LPGA high marks as she belted an11-under-par 60, matching the low final round for a tournament this year, while she also tied an LPGA record with three eagles in a single round.
"That was crazy," Li said. "60 is the lowest round I've ever shot. With two three-putts, if you told me on the fourth hole I was going to shoot 60, I would've thought you were out of your mind."
Li's long putt to score a three on the par-5 18th closed her final round with a remarkable flourish. Her final-round 60 tied Linnea Strom, who shot that number at the Shoprite LPGA Classic in June to win the tournament.
That put Li on 17-under, giving the 21-year-old and second-year pro an inside track on her first career win, following two top-10 finishes earlier this season.
But stepping up to 18 down two strokes, Suwannapura sank an eagle of her own - her first of the day - to force the play-off with a 10-under 61.
"I actually slipped on that shot," Suwannapura said about her approach shot.
Her tying putt, from about four feet away, was less dramatic. "I'm already lucky enough to be that close for eagle, and I'm like, 'Well, might as well do it,'" Suwannapura said.
The two replayed the 488-yard 18th hole for the play-off. They both made two-putt birdies on their first time through.
On the second play-off hole, also on 18, Li hit into the rough on her tee shot, setting up a long approach from the edge of the green, which she couldn't make.
That gave Suwannapura her opening. Two strong shots gave her a makeable putt for eagle, which she sank.
Sei Young Kim of South Korea finished alone in third place at 16 under with a final-round eight-under 63.
Kim also pocketed an eagle on 18 to go along with six birdies in finishing a stroke behind the leaders.
Two golfers tied for fourth at 14 under: Japan's Mao Saigo (65) and Thailand's Arpichaya Yubol (66).
South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai had entered the day with the lead after a four-under 67 on Saturday gave her a one-stroke lead over the Philippines' Dottie Ardina.
But those two fell off the pace as Buhai still netted a respectable two-under 69 to finish sixth at 13 under.
Ardina, meanwhile,suffered through a disastrous round of 75 featuring four bogeys and a double bogey to fall into a tie for 44th at six under.
