MICHELLE WIE ENDS FOUR-YEAR TITLE DROUGHT WITH WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Michelle Wie gave the galleries at Sentosa Golf Club a finish to remember on Sunday, securing victory in the US$1.5 million purse HSBC Women's World Championship and taking the winner's cheque of US$225,000 with an epic 45-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole.
The win put paid to memories of 2017 when she led the tournament after the first and third rounds, before fading on the last. Her bogey-free round of seven-under-par 65 saw her add her name to a list of champions that includes some of the true greats of the game, including Lorena Ochoa, Ai Miyazato, Karrie Webb, Paula Creamer, and Inbee Park.
Teeing off in the penultimate flight of the day, and four shots behind overnight leader Nelly Korda, the Hawaiian maintained pressure on the leaders with birdies on holes 2, 4, 8, 10, 13, and 14 before producing the shot of the tournament on the last, to take the outright lead. It looked as though Korda, playing in the last flight of the day, would force a play-off; her superb approach to the 18th leaving her with a five-foot birdie putt, but it wasn't to be.
Speaking about her fifth win on tour, Major-winner Wie said, "You know, I just kind of wanted to get revenge after last year a little bit. I kind of came with a slight chip on my shoulder in the morning, and I knew that I had to shoot low to even have a chance, and everyone played great today. I'm just really proud of myself for making a lot of birdies and keep going, and never really getting out of my head, which I'm really proud of doing today. But my caddie did a great job of keeping me in the game and keeping me entertained throughout the round. It was a lot of fun today."
Speaking about the importance of the win after a four-year hiatus, she added, "It's been a tough journey since 2014. I think it's been kind of well documented. You know, I've had some injuries, had a really bad year, just lost a lot of confidence. But I'm just really proud for pulling myself out of it. I felt like I had a good year last year, a year where I built confidence, and I just want to keep building confidence from there. I just want to keep rising. I just want to keep playing the best I can, trying the hardest I can and trying to become the best player that I can be."
With the pressure mounting on day four, neither Korda nor round-two leader Danielle Kang were able to repeat the kind of performances they had shown earlier in the week, carding rounds of one and two-under par respectively.
A visibly upset Korda was comforted by elder sister Jessica as she left the 18th. Speaking afterwards she said, "I had a bunch of putts that were really close and a lot of them lipped and burned edges. It definitely hurts, but that's golf. There's going to be another tournament. There's going to be another feeling like this. I just have to keep going forward. I definitely fought till the end but sometimes it just doesn't work out, but I'm proud of myself for fighting till the end."
Brooke Henderson's birdie on 18 saw her take a share of second, alongside Korda, Kang and Shin – Shin's seven-under-par seeing her climb from over overnight ninth place. The South Korean's birdie on 16 briefly gave her the outright lead, before a bogey on 18 dashed her hopes.
In a day that saw a number of players go low, the round of the day went to Korea's Sei Young Kim who shot a course and tournament record of 10-under-par – one better than Angela Stanford and Caroline Mason's nine-under-par 63.
Showing continuous improvement throughout the tournament was Thai amateur Atthaya Thitikul. Her final round of six-under-par 66 saw her power her way into the top ten with scant regard for the company she was keeping. Joining the tournament on the back of her Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific championship win last week, the 15-year-old golf prodigy finished tied in eighth place and ahead of her heroes Ariya Jutanugarn and So Yeon Ryu. She is unquestionably a name for the future.
Asked what her game plan was for the week, the teen said, "Keep smiling and have fun on the golf course, and focus on your game. Don't worry about birdies. Don't worry about the hole. Focus on the game. It's only the clubs and the ball and the golf course and you."
HSBC Women's World Championship (Final)
1. Michelle Wie -17
T2. Danielle Kang -16
T2. Brooke M. Henderson -16
T2. Jenny Shin -16
T2. Nelly Korda -16
T6. Minjee Lee -15
T6. Jin Young Ko -15
T8. Atthaya Thitikul -13
T8. Angela Stanford -13
T10. Sei Young Kim -12
T10. Amy Yang -12
T10. Jeong Eun Lee -12
T10. Jessica Korda -12
T10. Lydia Ko -12
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