Wang Li-Ning (王莉甯) got her first taste of victory this week at the TLPGA Tour’s YTS & SUNCITY Heritage Tour, in her eighth year as a TLPGA pro.

The first-round leader used another low-round 68 to complete at 8-under 136, winning by a dominant 4-shot margin in the NT$800,000, 36-hole event. The win is worth NT$94,700.

Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇) carded a 3-under 69 to steal the solo second place at 4-under. Lee Tai-Ling (李黛翎) finished in solo third at 2-under, while Lin Sha-Wei (林善葳) and Babe Liu (劉嬿) concluded in the top-5 at even-par 144.

Wang maintained her fine touch from yesterday, combined with her strength in the distance department, keeping herself wealthy in birdie opportunities. She opened her birdie count early on the 3rd hole, with a 4-footer, and followed it up with another birdie on the par-3 4th to enlarge her lead.

She then went on to make it to 7-under after a birdie on the 6th. Despite dropping one shot after a chipping mistake on the 7th, she scored her fourth birdie in the round to make the turn with a 4-shot advantage.

Pressure-free, Wang holed her fifth birdie on Hole 11 from a difficult, down-hill position to cancel the effort from her closest rival Shih Cheng-Hsuan, who birdied the 10th earlier. Shih failed to make any waves after that, and so did Wang’s final-group partners Lee Tai-Ling and Wu Yi-Ching (伍以晴).

Fellow players and friends held “buckets” of water on the greenside, waiting for Wang to finish her last putt so they could douse her in celebration. A soaked Wang, but all delighted, finally claimed her first professional victory.

“I honestly had no idea how much I was still leading, but I felt comfortable. I just knew I played another great round of golf. (Wu) Yi-Ching and I are really close friends, so it kind of helped me to cool down as well. We were chit-chatting through 18 holes,” said Wang. “Yeah, and when I saw them (players) holding big water buckets outside the 18th green, I knew I won it. I have always been the one who go up there to celebrate for them, and now it’s finally my turn to get wet. It feels special.”

Looking to the future, the Miaoli-native with an indigenous heritage hopes to grab a few more titles in the remaining season and get herself more equipped for bigger stages such as the Japan LPGA Tour tests.

The Heritage Tour event, co-sponsored by the YTS Technology, is held at the Suncity Golf Club for the sixth straight year, providing an increased total purse from NT$600,000 to NT$800,000. The YTS Group is one of the top suppliers in the airtight window market in Taiwan.

In the “Heritage Tour” event format, the amateur and junior players are paired with the professionals, so the young ones can closely interact with the best players and pick up valuable learning experience. “Since the Heritage Tour first being introduced in 2003, the TLPGA has held 87 Heritage Tour events, which hosted over 5,080 pro, amateur, and junior players,” said TLPGA Chairwoman Liu Yi-Chen. “We thank again the support from YTS and the Suncity Golf Club for creating such a platform for the sport to grow. We certainly would hope there continues to be more sponsorships joining to help us create even bigger value as well as for our players to make it higher on the world scenes.”

In the Group Amateur Women’s A, Lee Chia-Hsuan (李佳璇) holds the trophy after beating her competitors with a winning total of 9-over 153 (78-75).

The TLPGA Pro Test is held concurrently this week at the Suncity. Players who finish 54 holes at 12-over or better will gain official TLPGA memberships.