Liu Peng-Shan (劉芃姍), who lost her lead from yesterday at the very start of the final-round at the SAMPO Ladies Open, made a late comeback to deny the winning hopes for Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇).

Liu dropped a crucial 18-feet birdie putt on the 17th hole to fend away the challenge from Shih and claimed the one-shot victory on 8-under 208, which is worth NT$630,000.

Shih, who moved into Friday’s final-round two shots behind, needed just two holes to snatch the lead from Liu. Shih managed to birdie the first two holes, while the 36-hole leader opened the round with a bogey on the first.

The playing partners today then had some birdie exchanges, before things turned tricky for Shih near the 16th green.

Still holding a one-stroke lead, Shih had about 115 yards for her third shot on the par-5 16th; however, she overestimated the speed of green and went 12 feet too short. “I saw Shih’s ball just trickled onto the front of the green and died away, so when it was my turn, I actually hit it harder than I planned, and the ball ended up just in front of the hole,” Liu admitted, who made an easy tap-in for par. Meanwhile, Shih unexpectedly struggled with her putter, needing three more attempts to finish the hole and giving the lead back to Liu after a double-bogey.

With only a one-shot edge, Liu pulled the tee shot on the 17th hole into the roughs. However, the 19-year-old made it up with a nicely-curved approach to 18 feet, before she pulled off a stunning putt to match Shih’s birdie effort and retain her lead.

Liu, with a small fist-pump when she rolled the important putt in, showed a look of determination as if she knew she was going to take her first big TLPGA Tour victory. And she did. Despite missing the 18th fairway yet again, she safely arrived on the green and closed it with a par to register a 70, which put her 54-hole total at 208. Shih, who was not able to produce another birdie with her last chance on the 18th, wrapped it up on 7-under 209 with a final-round 69.

“My coach, my team, and everybody who have helped me along the road, I really appreciate your amazing support,” said Liu, whose lone previous TLPGA Tour title was from the 36-hole BNP PARIBAS & TLPGA Heritage Tour. “I’m just very happy to win this one and keep the trophy in Taiwan.”

A number of Thai players have displayed great performances this week, with Trichat Cheenglab finishing in solo third, and Chonlada Chayanun, Ornnicha Konsunthea, and Kultida Pramphun sharing the fourth place at 4-under 212. Punpaka Phuntumabamrung and Jackie Chulya concluded their visits in a tie for seventh with Chen Min-Jou (陳敏柔), who shot a bogey-free, 4-under 68 on Friday, and Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳).

The fourth TLPGA Pro-Test this season was also completed concurrently at the Lily Golf & Country Club. All six players have all crossed the qualifying line at a 54-hole total of 12-over. Tseng Tsai-Ching (曾彩晴), last week’s Nan Yi Open champion, finished with a 6-under 210, which would put her in solo third on the Party Golfers Open leaderboard.

The Party Golfers Ladies Open is the eighth leg of the 2022 TLPGA Tour, title-sponsored by the Party Golfers, an amateur golf team comprised of local entrepreneurs who share a strong passion for the golf sport. They’ve been lending their sponsorship supports since 2014, the first year the TLPGA Tour was recognized by the WWGR (World Women’s Golf Rankings).