Taiwan’s Shih Huei-Ju (石惠如) earned her fourth career victory on the TLPGA Tour today when she edged a squad of three chasers in the third annual Meridigen Technology Cup presented by High Tech Charity and Meridigen Biotech co..

The defending champion held off the stubborn resilience from the young Huang Shu-Huai (黃舒淮), who fired a 2-under front-nine 34 to narrow the gap to just one stroke.

However, despite a pressure that had held Shih from checking the scoreboard anymore and her making two bogeys on the back nine, Huang was the one who stumbled worse down the stretch to the finish line. Huang made four bogeys in the next six holes. A birdie on the seventeenth could only brought her back to a tie for second at 221 with Huang Yu-Chen(黃玉珍) and first-round leader Chen Szu-Han (陳思涵).

Shih tried to stay solid when she started the final round with only a one-shot lead. A few missed chances saw her stayed on par throughout the first part of the day, but just when the nerves are kicking in as the chasers closing in, Shih relied on her consistency as well as her better experience on the Hsin Chu Golf & Country Club to claim the win in the 54-hole event.

Friends ran onto the 18th green to douse Shih in water in celebration after the last putt sank and Shih finally realized she had defended her title in a relived smile. The 36-year-old pocketed NT$420,000 for the victory. Her score of 219 was a 2-shot improvement from last year.

2012 winner Tiranan Yoopan from Thailand failed to make the cut on Friday.

This year the Meridigen Technology Cup features its first time being held jointly with the men’s competition finished on the same course. Chan Shih-Chang (詹世昌) from Taiwan also delighted the home crowd with his third victory of the season.