Ariya triumphs in Morocco with pluck and luck

The Thai teenager was cruising with a three-stroke lead over American Beth Allen after 14 holes, when she hit trouble with a double bogey on the fifth hole, where Allen birdied. All of a sudden Ariya was revisited by her nightmare at the Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course, where she squandered a two-stroke lead and stumbled to a triple bogey on 18 to hand the victory to Park Inbee of South Korea.

“I had a flashback, because it [the Pattaya meltdown]  also  happened on a par-5 hole. But Itried not to be consumed by that because I was still leading and there were three more holes to go for birdies,” said the 17-year-old rookie from Bangkok. Ariya duly bounced back to fire her  final birdie on the 17th and finally vanquish the ghosts along with Allen, who lost her chance to catch the Thai after a bogey on the 16th. Ariya took the title by three strokes after carding a total 14-under-par 270 at the par-71 Golf de l’Ocean. 

“I played very well today on the front nine and on the back nine. On the par-five, it got really exciting because I only had a one-shot lead. Having had a similar experience last time [in Pattaya] I got a bit nervous. Yesterday [Saturday] my putting was not very good at first but I grew in confidence over the front nine. At the 15th hole, I was really scared to hit with my driver because in the practice round I didn’t hit it well, so when I hit to the left, I thought, a bogey is fine. But I had a seven,” said Ariya, who returned to Bangkok today ahead of her trip to Hawaii for an LPGA qualifier.

Ariya, who won the Ladies European Tour (LET) qualifying tournament in Marrakech in December, again displayed her remarkable talent in recovering from a stroke behind overnight leader Charley Hull to earn a three-shot victory with rounds of 69, 67, 67 and 67.

This was only her fourth start on the LET  and adds to her growing reputation as one of the new generation of stars in women’s golf. As well as her runners-up place in the Honda LPGA Thailand, she also finished fourth at the HSBC Champions in Singapore.

Ariya was fast out of the gates in the final round on Sunday, moving clear of fellow 17-year-old rookie Hull with a two-shot swing on the first hole.

Hull started with a one-stroke lead at 11-under but could only salvage a bogey on the first hole. With the adrenaline pumping, she hit her second through the green into a sandy lie.

Finding her ball in a deep hole, Hull called a rules official but no evidence of a burrowing animal was found and she had to play out over the green, chip up and hole a 15-footer for bogey.

Meanwhile Ariya birdied the first three holes to quickly establish a three-stroke advantage, and almost holed a seven-footer for birdie on the fourth. She then birdied the seventh to get to 14 under, four clear of Hull, who then bogeyed the eighth to drop back into a share of second with Allen and give Ariya a five-shot lead.

The Thai then dropped her first shot of the day at the par-3 ninth, after missing the green and playing a chip shot from a grassy bank. Out in three under, she held a four-shot lead over Hull and Allen at the turn.

Ariya pulled five shots clear with a birdie on 10 before all three players birdied the 11th.

Then the Thai teen’s momentum stalled when she double bogeyed the par-5 15th, having driven into the bushes left of the fairway. Her lead was cut to one stroke over fellow tour rookie Allen. However, Ariya holed a solid 10-foot putt on the 17th to regain a three-stroke gap and at the 18th, safely two-putted for par.

The win moves the Thai to the top of the LET’s Order of Merit and up to 42nd in the world rankings.

When asked how she would spend her winner’s cheque, she replied: “It’s all for my dad! I’m going to keep playing on the European Tour and I hope to win some more.”

However she said she would keep hold of  the ornate diamond-encrusted purse which she was also given as a prize.