Juliana Hung (洪玉霖) completed a wire-to-wire victory at the Jing-Mao Ladies Open on Thursday. She carded a final-round 5-under 67 to seal the deal with a 54-hole total of 18-under 198, winning by a remarkable 7-shot margin. This is Hung’s fifth TLPGA Tour victory and first win in the 2023 season. Her most recent triumph dates back to last September.

Tseng Tsai-Ching (曾彩晴), who delivered a final-round 4-under 68, finished as the runner-up at 205. Chen Ling-Jie (陳伶潔) secured a top-3 finish after today’s 67.

Hou Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔) started the day in solo second, but ended up in a tie for fourth with Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇) (68) and Thai player Dussavi Soopimjit (68) after a Thursday 72 at 9-under 207.

The nearing typhoon from the east of the island, fortunately, didn’t affect the weather as much as expected at the Royal Kuan-Hsi Golf Club. Hung, who held a four-shot cushion at the start of the day, continued her hot streak right off the bat. She picked up three shots in just three holes, including a surprising chip-in eagle on the third hole from 30 yards away.

“I was actually still feeling pretty nervous, but I was off to a great start,” said Hung, who arrived at the turn with already a six-stroke lead. “The nerves were almost gone after the turn. And I just tried to still play the best game I could.” Hung drained two more birdies on the 10th and 11th, expanding the gap to eight shots.

On the final green, the 21-year-old lofted the ball with a beautiful spin, which rolled to just six feet, and calmy scored her fifth birdie to confirm the victory—her fifth win on the TLPGA Tour.

“I think this win is very special for me, because the previous four came at a time when the tournaments were local-player only. This is my first victory after the border restrictions were lifted,” said the winner of KENDA Tire TLPGA Open and SAMPO Ladies Open in 2021, and Green Cup Charity Open and SAMPO Ladies Open again in 2022.

“This came timely for my confidence, to be honest. I’ve been testing myself and throwing myself to the U.S. to compete at higher levels. But haven’t quite gotten the results I wanted,” the Kaohsiung-native said. “With these experiences, I learned to cope with frustration a lot better than I used to, and not to put it all on my shoulders what I cannot control. Expect highs and lows in life and especially in sports, and that’s what makes it all the more charming.”

The NT$3 million Jing-Mao Ladies Open is the ninth leg of the 2023 TLPGA Tour. Hung’s victory is worth NT$540,000.