Moriya Jutanugarn emerges from tight pack to win Portland Classic for 3rd LPGA Tour title
By The Associated Press on August 4, 2024.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Moriya Jutanugarn emerged from a tight pack late Sunday afternoon at Columbia Edgewater to win the Portland Classic for her third career LPGA Tour title. Three strokes behind leader Andrea Lee going into the round, Jutanugarn shot a 6-under 66 in mostly calm conditions for a two-stroke victory over three players. Jutanugarn finished at 22-under 266, playing the first 71 holes without a bogey. The 30-year-old Thai player birdied Nos. 13-15 and made an 8-footer to save par on the par-3 16th. She made a short birdie putt on the par-4 17th and closed with a bogey. Narin An (66), Nataliya Guseva (68) and Angel Yin (69) tied for second. Guseva is the first Russian player with an LPGA Tour card. Jutanugarn also won the 2018 HUGEL-JTBC LA Open and 2021 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational team event with younger sister Ariya Jutanugarn. Ariya Jutanugarn, a 12-time LPGA Tour winner, closed with a 65 on Sunday to tie for ninth at 17 under. Sofia Garcia (68) and So Mi Lee (70) tied for fifth at 19 under, and second-round leader Dewi Weber (72) was another stroke back. Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont., finished tied for 65th at 6 under. Lee, the 2022 winner for her lone LPGA Tour title, had a 74 to finish in the group at 17 under. Weber dropped back with a double bogey on the par-4 15th and a bogey on 16. She was trying to win for the first time on the LPGA Tour and send a statement to the Dutch Olympic committee that it made a mistake by declining to send her to Paris. She qualified for the Olympics under International Golf Federation standards, but was left out because of the Netherlands’ separate standards for all sports to meet a realistic chance of a top-eight finish. With the Olympics next week, no one from the top 30 in the world ranking was in the field. The lone Olympian in Portland was Aditi Ashok of India. She finished with a 72 to tie for 22nd at 14 under. ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf 14-13
