Taiwan’s own Chen Ling-Jie (陳伶潔) grabbed her first TLPGA Tour victory today at the Party Golfers’ Ladies Open, a co-sanctioned event by the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT). The 36-hole leader carded a bogey-free 5-under 67 in the final third round at the Lily Golf & Country Club to take the 4-shot victory on 15-under 201.

Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳) looked way out of it being five shots behind Chen after making two bogeys in her first three holes on Friday. “I started the day three shots back, so I thought I needed to really pick up my level and make some birdies, which made me a little too tight at the beginning,” said Chang, who settled down nicely, scoring birdies on no.5 to 7 consecutively to strike back into contention.

With 36-hole co-leader Babe Liu (劉嬿) committing mistakes on the 4th and 6th, Chen Ling-Jie, who went from 10-under to 11-under, gained a solo lead by three shots when she made the turn. “I was playing quite relaxed, trying not to overplay or drop any shots, because obviously my playing partners were not having the best day, so I didn’t really have to face too much pressure,” said Chen.

But one player refused to hand the victory to Chen easily. Playing in the second to last group, Chang Ya-Chun used a 15-foot eagle on the 14th hole to close the gap to just one shot; however, it just inspired Chen to take it to the next gear as she made four straight birdies from the 14th to 17th to lock the victory.

This marks the first tour triumph for Chen, who enjoyed a big boost financially. The win is worth NT$720,000, plus a NT$200,000 motivation cash prize for the local winner, as well as a red-figure-in-all-three-rounds bonus of NT$90,000. This should also put Chen into the top-10 on the TLPGA Tour’s money leaderboard next week.

“I tried to lower the expectation this time, though, knowing that I was so close to the win, because I always wanted it so badly that it kind of affected my performance,” Chen said. “Now this time, I was really trying to be ‘indifferent’. And I’m glad it worked out well today.

Chang congratulated Chen, who both turned pro last year, for how well she stood up to the challenge on the last few holes. “She was so great today. There was not much I could do with the way she closed it out,” Chang added, who finished as the runner-up on 11-under 205.

Thai player Mim Sangkapong turned in a final-round 70 to finish in solo third on 7-under. Tseng Tsai-Ching (曾彩晴) and Jessica Peng (彭婕) both shot a 72 on Friday, wrapping it up in fourth and fifth respectively. Babe Liu (劉嬿), who started the day tied with Chen Ling-Jie, was unfortunately disqualified after signing an incorrect scorecard.

2017 TLPGA & Royal (Kuan Hsi) Open winner Pauline del Rosario finished highest among the 16 Filipino players featured in this week. The LPGA’s Epson Tour player completed the week in a tie for sixth on 5-under 211. Chen Yu-Chu (陳宥竹) got the low-amateur honor after carding a 74-69-69 212.

The tournament, in its ninth year, boasts its biggest-ever purse in with NT$4 million. Co-sponsors include STUDIO A, Lian Hwa Foods, Power Quotient International, and CPC Corporation.

A special campaign was running that, for every birdie or eagle made during this week, one or five trees will be planted on the 17th hole of Lily’s course to help offset the tournament′s carbon footprint. And thanks to the efforts by all players, Lily Golf & Country Club Chairman Su C-L. announced 670 birdies and 6 eagles had been made over the three-day event and a total of 700 trees will be grown.