THAILANDER WINS WOMEN'S INDIAN OPEN FOR THIRD TIME

 DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SET, PHATIUM IS DRESSED IN COLOURFUL SPOTS!

NEWS RELEASE FROM LADIES' EUROPEAN TOUR
From Bethan Cutler, LET Media Manager

GURGAON (India): Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum gave herself an early 23^rd birthday present by becoming the first woman to win the Hero Women’s Indian Open three times. 

Phatlum, who turns 23 on December 4, gave a dominant final round display at DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon today.

She shot rounds of 72, 65 and 66 for a winning total of 203, 13 under par, winning by four strokes from the defending champion Caroline Hedwall.

“I’m so happy now. It’s like a big tournament; I won and in two days it will be my birthday so it’s going to be a big present for me,” said Phatlum, who previously won the event on the same golf course in 2008 and 2009, when it was sanctioned by the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and Women’s Golf Association of India, before it became tri-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour.

“I love winning at this golf course and I like to play here very much,” continued the diminutive world No.93, who stands 5’3” tall.  “I think my approach shots and putting were the best part of my game. I have a lot of pressure today but I told myself to relax.”

The colourfully dressed Phatlum may be softly spoken and shy when speaking English, but she let her golf do the talking on a warm and sunny final day near New Delhi.

Having started the final round tied for the lead with Australian Bree Arthur on seven under par, she took control of the championship with an outward nine of five under 31 in the final round, to gain a three stroke lead over Hedwall, to whom she had finished second 12 months earlier.

It turned out to be an exciting final round duel and both players birdied the first hole. Hedwall then caught Phatlum with a birdie on the fifth.

At the par-five sixth, Phatlum made a 15-footer for eagle while Hedwall could only respond with a birdie after finding the bunker right, short of the green.

Phatlum then sank birdie putts from three and 12 feet at the seventh and eighth respectively to move three shots clear of the field by the turn.

There was a two shot swing at the 15^th, which Phatlum bogeyed and Hedwall birdied, reducing the margin to just one stroke.

However, after hitting her bright pink ball into the rough left of the fairway on 17, Phatlum expertly played a half shot out of the trees using a 9-iron to within three feet of the hole and rolled in the putt to move two strokes ahead.

Both players split the fairway with their drives on the par-five 18^th, but it was effectively all over when Hedwall hit her second shot into the lake short of the green.

“I had 156 metres to the pin but the ball was in a divot mark and I can’t really do much about that,” Hedwall, 23, explained. “The divot was placed there but it still wasn’t a good lie. I said to my mom, ‘I have adrenaline so this is the club that I have to hit. If I hit 4-iron I might end up in the bunker,’ so I just had to go with it and I did and I hit a good shot, but I obviously lost a lot of length hitting from there. It went in the water and that happens.

“I didn’t really put myself in any trouble, I just didn’t make the putts that I needed to make and Pornanong played really well and put pressure on me, so it was a good game, just sometimes you don’t win.”

Hedwall took a bogey to complete a final round of 69 and end at nine under, following her course record 62 second-round. Phatlum made a birdie after playing an excellent third shot from the bunker to within four feet of the flag.

“I didn’t want to think about it before I got the win so I just tried my best and relaxed,” said Phatlum, explaining that her brother, Pornpong, who is also a professional golfer, helped her psychologically in his role as caddie.

It was Phatlum’s sixth international title. She first won the 2006 Hong Kong Open on the LAGT as a 17 year old amateur, before collecting wins in India and Thailand in 2008. Her win in India in 2009 was her fourth LAGT title and she followed up by collecting the 2012 Brazil Cup in May, which was an unofficial tournament on the US LPGA, played over two rounds.

Another Thai, Nontaya Srisawang, finished third on seven under after a final round 68 and said that she was delighted for her friend’s victory.

Srisawang, who suffered a bout of Dengue Fever last month, said: “I had 14 greens today and 29 putts so I just gave myself chances to make putts. I’m very happy, after I was sick, four weeks ago. I came back and to get a top five, I’m very happy with that.”

Three players finished four shots back in a share of fourth place on three under: England’s Trish Johnson (69), Spain’s Carlota Ciganda (70) and Italian Stefania Croce (71). 

England’s Laura Davies, the 2010 champion, ended a stroke further back in seventh, followed by France’s Caroline Afonso, England’s Elizabeth Bennett and 14-year-old amateur Aditi Ashok, from India in a share of eighth place.

Second-round co-leader Bree Arthur from Australia struggled on the greens and recorded a final round 80 to finish in a tie for 13^th on one over. 

The Tour now heads to Emirates Golf Club for the season-ending Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, taking place from Wednesday December 5, to Saturday December 8.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)

203 Pornanong Phatlum (THA)  72 65 66

207 Caroline Hedwall (SWE)  76 62 69

209 Nontaya Srisawang (THA)  71 70 68

213 Trish Johnson (ENG)  72 72 69, Stefania Croce (ITA)  69 73 71, Carlota Ciganda (ESP)  75 68 70

214 Laura Davies (ENG)  71 69 74

215 Caroline Afonso (FRA)  72 75 68, Elizabeth Bennett (ENG)  72 69 74, Aditi Ashok (IND)  69 74 72

216 - Veronica Zorzi (ITA)  74 70 72, Joanna Klatten (FRA)  76 70 70

217 - Margherita Rigon (ITA)  73 72 72, Thidapa Suwannapura (THA)  72 72 73, Bree Arthur (AUS)  70 67 80, Gwladys Nocera (FRA)  72 72 73, Jaruporn Palakawong Na Ayutthaya (THA)  70 75 72

218 Stacey Keating (AUS)  70 75 73, Celine Palomar (FRA) 71 74 73, Beth Allen (USA)  75 71 72, Nikki Garrett (AUS)  73 73 72

219 Sahra Hassan (WAL)  74 72 73, Numa Gulyanamitta (THA)  74 71 74, Becky Morgan (WAL)  70 73 76, Tania Elosegui (ESP)  71 74 74, Florentyna Parker (ENG)  70 71 78, Becky Brewerton (WAL)  69 76 74, Stacy Lee Bregman (ZAF)  71 77 71, Carly Booth (SCO)  76 72 71

220 Hae Ra Park (SKOR) 74 71 75, Danielle Montgomery (ENG)  76 74 70, Walailak Satarak (USA)  71 74 75

221 Nalini Singh Siwach (IND)  73 74 74, Linda Wessberg (SWE)  78 69 74, Kiran Matharu (ENG)  73 69 79

222 Klara Spilkova (CZE)  78 73 71, Connie Chen (ZAF)  72 78 72, Rebecca Artis (AUS)  75 72 75

223 Pernilla Lindberg (SWE)  77 73 73, Holly Aitchison (ENG)  72 74 77, Cassandra Kirkland (FRA)  77 74 72, Tandi Cuningham (ZAF)  76 70 77

224 Sophie Sandolo (ITA)  74 74 76, Lorie Kane (CAN)  78 73 73

225 Sharmila Nicollet (IND)  73 76 76, Charlotte Ellis (ENG)  76 75 74, Kylie Walker (SCO)  75 72 78, Tiranan Yoopan (THA)  77 73 75, Gurbani Singh (IND)  76 73 76, Vani Kapoor (IND)  75 75 75

226 Ainil Johani Abu Bakar (MYS)  75 74 77, Titiya Plucksataporn (THA)  77 72 77, Jessica Yadloczky (USA)  78 72 76

227 Wannasiri Srisampant (THA)  76 74 77, Zuzana Kamasova (SVK)  77 75 75, Sophie Walker (ENG)  73 77 77

228 Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (FRA)  74 78 76, Ajira Nualraksa (THA)  76 76 76

229 Pennapa Pulsawath (THA)  77 74 78, Tiffany Tavee (USA)  72 74 83, Stefanie Michl (AUT)  80 72 77, Vikki Laing (SCO)  79 71 79

230 Julie Greciet (FRA)  75 77 78, Liebelei Lawrence (LUX)  70 77 83, Clare Queen (SCO)  77 73 80

231 Janya Morrakotphan (THA)  74 74 83, Sarah Kemp (AUS)  77 75 79, Noon Huachai (THA)  76 76 79

232 Nichakorn Rakasachat (THA)  75 77 80

233 Millie Saroha (IND)  76 76 81

236 Saruttaya Ngam-usawan (THA)  80 72 84