Brave Thais fall short

American Jessica Korda completed a wire-to-wire victory to capture her fifth LPGA title, the $1.6 million LPGA Thailand at the Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course on Sunday.
Starting the final day with a four-shot lead, Korda reeled off six birdies in a closing 67, which left her on 25 under-par-263, a tournament record, beating the previous mark of 22-under by Amy Yang of South Korea in 2017.
“I can’t believe it. Today is such a blur. Everybody is playing so well. I tried to make birdies and not making mistakes. I tried to relax. I was nervous,” said Korda, who last won a tournament in Malaysia in 2015. 
It was her first event of the year after having jaw surgery that caused her headaches and significantly impacted her sleep and mood.

Korda, after a bogey on the eighth hole, could have suffered further on the next hole when her tee shot landed behind trees but she escaped to save par – and never looked back.
“It was nervewracking [when the gap got down to two]. Colin [Cann, her caddie] told me to calm down and said everything was still fine. I knew if I finished the front nine with enough of a lead, I could hold them off,” the American said.
For the first time on the LPGA tour, four sisters - the Jutanugarns and the Kordas (including Jessica’s younger sister, Nelly) were on the front page of the leaderboard. In the end the win went to the older American.
“I haven’t talked much to Nelly but I’m so proud of her. Ariya and Moriya were playing amazing golf. At one point Ariya made an eagle and the crowd was so loud. I told her it was the loudest I’ve ever heard,” said the 24-year-old Korda, who earned a winner’s cheque for $240,000.
Moriya got within two strokes of Korda after the front nine but couldn’t keep up the chase and had to settle for a 67 and a total of 21-under-par 267. 

Moriya Jutanugarn 

“I wasn’t sad at all. It was fun playing with Jessica. It’s been a fun week. I tried my best. Whatever happened this week is cool,” said Moriya, who finished runner-up for the third time on tour. 
World No 4 Lexi Thompson used her putter to great effect, carding eight birdies in a bogey-less round for a finishing 64 and 21 under-par-267.
“I had to just fire at everything today and make a lot of birdies, because Jessica has been playing amazing, along with a lot of other people. So that's what I did: I just went after it,” said Thompson.

Lexi Thompson and Ariya Jutanugarn 

Former world No 2 Ariya Jutanugarn carded a 69 to share fifth place with world No 1 Shanshan Feng of China, who had a closing 66.
“Everything was OK for me. I just made a few mistakes. I had fun and it felt warm to have support from the fans,” said Ariya. 
Thai No 3 Pornanong Phatlum shot a sizzling 64, her personal best in the tournament, to finish joint seventh with South Korean Ko Jin Young, American Brittany Lincicome and Canadian Brooke M Henderson.
“Eight under in a day is my best in this tournament. I achieved my goal by finishing in the top 10 for the first time. The atmosphere was great out there with so many fans coming to support me,” said Pornanong, who is looking to lift to improve her current ranking of world No 88 after recovering from a back injury.
Chinese teenager Muni He, one of the star attractions this week, finished rock-bottom in 69th with a four-round total of 16-over-par 304.

Muni He