Taiwan’s Hou (Vivian) Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔) began the day three shots back of lead in the final round of the 2023 Wistron Ladies Open, but turned it around after carding a bogey-free 66 and fending off the challenge from Philippines’ Bianca Pagdanganan with a crucial 27-foot birdie on the final hole. Hou took the 1-shot victory on 11-under 277 and pocketed a record-high winning check worth $320,000.

In fact, the 2023 Wistron Ladies Open already features the biggest prize money in the event’s four-year history, and it is the highest-paying tournament in the 2023 TLPGA Tour season with a top cash prize of $160,000. Wistron announced that the amount will be doubled if a local player wins this year’s tournament, and it was 22-year-old Hou who came out on top and took home the grand prize.

Bianca Pagdanganan also shot a 66 on Sunday, firing seven birdies, offset by just one bogey, which proved to be the final difference, however. She bagged $80,000 for the runner-up finish.

54-hole leader Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇淩) paid the price for another slow start. Holding a three-shot cushion at the start of the day, Hsu bogeyed the 1st hole and missed a short par putt on the fifth to give the lead away just six holes into the day, after Hou Yu-Chiang scored a second birdie on the par-5 6th.

Playing partners in the final flight, Hou, Hsu, and Pagdanganan all shot a birdie on the 7th hole and entered the turn with just a one-shot margin between each other.

Hou and Pagdanganan, both used to represent University of Arizona Wildcats, remained aggressive after the turn, exchanging birdies here and there, before the two arrived on the 18th tee with a one-shot advantage on Hou’s side.

Meanwhile, on the back nine, Hsu just could not find the magic in her putter anymore that she’d had on the first three and a half days, and committed a water-penalized double-bogey on the 16th to rule herself out of the contention. “It could have been a different story if I sent that par putt in on the first hole, but that’s golf. I did what I could,” said Hsu, who’s got one LPGA Tour event remaining on her schedule two weeks later. She ended up in solo third on 6-under 282.

Pagdanganan made the first move in the deciding moment. The big-hitting Filipino, ranked as high as no.3 in driving distance on the LPGA Tour, showed incredible nerves and went for the pond-guarded 18th green in two shots, leaving herself with an easy birdie chance on the par-5 hole, which was all set to stretch the game into a play-off, as Hou faced an almost impossible birdie, from 27 feet. However, Hou refused for that to happened, sealing the deal with a dramatic right-to-left birdie putt.

“The fourth hole was a confidence booster. I made a strong par putt, which kind of settled the nerves a bit, and then after that I rolled in three birdies in a row from the fifth hole,” said Hou. “I was feeling great. In fact, Bianca and Wei-Ling, we know each other quite well. We were just casually chatting, trying to take the score lightly, and just play our game. I mean, I didn’t feel a lot of pressure, at least not until that final putt. Because if I didn’t make it, I knew the momentum would be on Bianca’s side. And, incredibly, it dropped in. It was definitely a very emotional moment for me.”

Hou has been having a rough year dealing with wrist and hip injuries, “now I’m feeling as good as ever.” Hou will be playing a full season on the LPGA’s second-tier Epson Tour in 2024 and look to opportunities to make some waves on its main tour.

“Vivian played great, I’m happy to see her win at home, as I did the best I could and still could not match her,” said Pagdanganan, who celebrated her 26th birthday yesterday.

Hou will join Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇), Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏), and Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳) on the Wistron Ladies Open’s winner list, as their names are now engraved on a newly-designed, symbolic trophy. The inspiration is linked to the famous British Open Claret Jug, which is updated and bears the name of the winner every year.

2022 winner and 2023 TLPGA Tour Money Leader Chang Ya-Chun fired a 67 on Sunday to jump into a T6 finish on 3-under 285 with Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉). Phoebe Yao (姚宣榆) and Thai player Wichanee Meechai wrapped it up in fourth and fifth place respectively.

With this TLPGA Tour major win, Hou will replace Chang atop TLPGA Tour’s Money Leaderboard, and will be expected to make a meteoric rise in the world rankings next week.