World No.27 Pornanong Phatlum remained calm and solid in the final round of the 2015 Hitachi Ladies Classic as she closed with an even-par 72 and finished at 2-under-par to take her fourth and third consecutive victory at this tournament, edging Taiwanese Teresa Lu (盧曉晴) and Chen Meng-Chu (陳孟竺) by three shots.

This year the Hitachi Ladies Classic marks its seventh edition of the tournament, staged as the season-opening event on the TLPGA Tour for the second straight year, and Phatlum wins four of it in five years -- 2011 and 2013-2015.

“It almost feels like a home course,” Phatlum said, who pocketed NT$2.5 million for this week and overall NT$9.5 million in her stretch of four wins. “It feels amazing you get to win the first tournament of the year. It definitely gives me a lot of confidence for the new season, for my first LPGA win to come, of course. It’s been my dream and an important goal for 2015.”

“My putting and my short game felt great. I think those were the keys,” Phatlum said of the winning factor. “Making sure the ball stayed on the fairways was vital under the winds, too. And glad my game didn’t disappoint me.”

Finishing last season her first-time into the top-20 on LPGA Tour’s Money List, Phatlum is proud of what she has achieved and thankful for the home support. “After I leave the professional game, I’m going to take some money to build a course back in Thailand, where I’ve been receiving so much love and help, and hopefully, I can encourage more kids into this beautiful sport,” said Phatlum, as she already looked forward to improving her new season and closing inside the top-10.

Teresa Lu, the 2014 Japan LPGA season-ending Ricoh Cup champion, headed into today’s final round five shots behind Phatlum. She scored three birdies and remained bogey-free up until the 15th hole, but then had some trouble with consistency closing out, ending with bogey-birdie-bogey to finish at T2.

“It’s a pity I left a few birdies on the course today, but toughing it back to the second place is satisfying,” said Lu. “It’s a good warm-up week into a new season. Being under the windy conditions with the nice pressure working your way up on the leaderboard.”

Notching six birdies, Chen Meng-Chu jumped onto the second-place, tying with Lu, which is her best result in a major TLPGA Tour event.

19-year-old Taiwanese amateur Peng Chieh (彭婕), who is currently a NCAA player in the U.S. representing Mississippi State University, posted a final-round 71 and finished at 3-over-par 219, up in a tie for fourth with first-round co-leader Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒).

18-year-old Charley Hull, the 2014 Order of Merit (leading money winner) on the Ladies European Tour (LET), carded with a 3-over 75 to finish solo sixth at 220.

“Usually this time around every year, it is still off-season. So all feels very different for me,” said Hull. “The wind took me some time to get used to as well. It’s like coming from everywhere. So I’m actually happy with my scores.” Hull mentioned she did not expect to see so many fans here in Taiwan and really appreciated their support.

Another teenager, 17-year-old LET titlist Chen Ssu-Chia (程思嘉) finished her pro debut at T15 at 224, saying the attention and expectation was a takeaway from the week that she’ll have to learn quickly to overcome the added pressure coming along with it.

Annual proceeds from the tournament and an equal bonus from Hitachi Ltd. and Taiwan Hitachi Co., Ltd. will be used to endow nine local charities. Over the last six years, the tournament has raised donation exceeding NT$25 million and for this year, NT$5.7 million is raised as Hitachi celebrates its 50th anniversary.