17-year old Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏) captured her sixth TLPGA Tour win, and fifth since she turned pro last May, at the NT$10 million Wistron Ladies Open. With this win, Wu will overtake Chien Pei-Yun (錢珮芸) to be the new 2021 TLPGA Tour prize money leader.

Wu slept on a two-shot lead over defending champion Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇); however, with only eight holes in on Friday, the lead became as prominent as seven strokes. Wu’s impeccable start saw her sank birdie putts on 1, 6, and 8 to arrive at the turn with a 33, whereas Shih fell two shots back bogeying the 6th and 8th.

Although Shih mounted a late comeback after the turn, making four birdies in seven holes, Wu remained unwavered, closing the round with a back-nine 35 to reach a final total of 12-under 204, which nabbed the win for Wu along with the NT$2 million top prize. This is the second TLPGA Tour victory for Wu in three weeks; Wu was the youngest player in the draw but she took five matches in three days to grab the CTBC Invitational title last month.

“I stuck with my game plan to stay aggressive. I picked up a few more birdies on the front nine to increase my lead, so on the back nine I was swinging freely,” said Wu, who stayed cool and expressionless after the winning putt, as she always looks. “Well, I am happy, just that I don’t usually put my emotions on my face. People cannot tell how I look anyway with the mask on.”

Wu was awarded a bonus hole-in-one prize of a Citizen CAMPANOLA limited-edition watch to celebrate her achievement on the 16th hole in the second-round, which she intended to give to father. The teenager said she wanted to use the prize money to buy a new massage armchair for her family, and save the rest to cover her future expenses on the TLPGA Tour or other international tours. “To be honest, I always wanted to turn professional as early as I could for the reason that I can make a real earning. It feels satisfying to be able to support yourself,” said Wu. “And of course, it’s even more satisfying to be doing great and enjoying yourself on the course again, like I did today. I was struggling a little bit a few months ago when we came back from the lockdown, but thanks to my coaches, my team, they made who I am today.”

Shih, after birdying no.15 and 16 in a row, regained the second place and a runner-up prize of NT$1 million. The 2020 champion wrapped up the week at 7-under 209. Chen Min-Jou (陳敏柔) was thrown back into solo third at 211 after suffering two bogeys in the last three holes.

Banai Huang (黃婉萍) used her 7-iron to record her first lifetime hole-in-one on the 4th hole today at the Sunrise Golf Club. “I was truly shocked. I couldn’t believe it just rolled in like that!”

Huang Ting-Hsuan (黃亭瑄) squeezed into T10 at 220, winning the low amateur honor.

Wistron, one of the global leaders in the ICT (Information and Communications
Technology) field, has been an important partner of the TLPGA since 2006 and
finally became a title sponsor last year.

Wistron Ladies Open raised its total prize money from NT$6 million to NT$10 million this year, becoming one of the premier $10-million majors on the TLPGA Tour.