15-year-old Thai sensation Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul captured her first TLPGA Tour victory at the Party Golfers’ Open after posting a 1-under 71 for a 54-hole total of 209, besting local hope Chien Pei-Yun (錢珮芸) by three shots.

Muangkhumsakul, who carded all three rounds at under-par and won a first oversea title, is rapidly making a name for herself on the international scene. She will be making her first career appearance on the LPGA Tour at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club in October, after winning a 12-player wild card play-off last week at the same venue.

The Khon Kaen, Thailand native set for an early career start by turning pro last February at the age of just 14, and became already the No.1 on the Thailand LPGA Tour Money List this season with four professional wins on her resume. The Party Golfers’ Open is only the fourth Taiwan LPGA Tour tournament she’s played, and she wins, taking home a champion prize of NT$500,000 and a beautiful Taiwan-shaped Jade pendant provided by Luperla.

In today’s final round, Muangkhumsakul got off to a slow start with a bogey on the par-4 1st but regrouped herself immediately with two birdies in a row on 4th and 5th, leaving almost zero chance for others to catch up. It came to a perfect finish for her when she drained a 14-foot birdie putt on the last one, claiming a fifth career triumph.

“A first victory outside Thailand is big, and I hope it’s the beginning for me and I’m looking forward to many more,” said Muangkhumsakul. “My dream would be playing on the LPGA Tour, but there are obviously a few years to go before I get to take an LPGA Tour Card because of the age rules.”

Chien Pei-Yun took an early charge in the morning but made too many mistakes in the later day and was finally still three shots off Muangkhumsakul at 212. But a second-place prize check worth NT$250,000 and a bonus prize for best local performer of NT$300,000 actually made Chien the top earner in this week.

“It’s nice to win the money thanks to the sponsors. But a victory would be more than anything,” said Chien. “I had my chances but just couldn’t really capitalize on them.” Chien said a 3-foot birdie putt which slipped past the No.9 hole was a setback, and that she couldn’t quite continue putting pressure on Muangkhumsakul from then on.

Also from Thailand, Wichanee Meechai, who started the day four shots back, finished with a solid 71 for a final total of 213 to be in a tie for third with Chang Hsuan-Ping (張瑄屏) and first-round leader Yu Pei-Lin (余珮琳). Yu used a late surge on the back nine, firing three consecutive birdies from 12th to 14th, to be, at one point, just two strokes off the lead. However, a three-putt bogey on the final hole knocked her out of contention, and eventually lost the share of the bonus prize with Chien by a mere one shot.

17-year-old amateur Chen Chih-Min (陳之敏) had a tough day at office with zero birdie scored throughout and wrapped up with a 4-over 76 at 217, which dropped her to a tie for tenth with Australian Ashlee Dewhurst in the final standings.

This week’s lead sponsor, the Party Golfer club, is an amateur golf team comprised of local entrepreneurs, who share the passion for the golf sport and support the vision of the TLPGA with the idea of the inception of this inaugural Party Golfers’ Open.