Hong Kong’s Tiffany Chan completes her first-ever top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour, shooting two-under 69 in the final round
- A superb eagle on the 15th helps the 27-year-old recover from two early bogeys as she shoots two-under 69 for a 10-under total and a tie for eighth at the LA Open
- Chan shoots four rounds under par for the first time in her pro career at her favourite US course where she used to practise during her University of Southern California days
Hong Kong’s Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching displayed the kind of mental strength needed to make it on the pro tour, landing a brilliant late eagle to complete her first-ever top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour.
The 27-year-old recovered from bogeys on the second and sixth holes to shoot two-under-par 69 for a total of 10-under 274 and joint eighth place with American Morgan Pressel at the US$1.5 million Hugel Air Premia LA Open on Sunday (Hong Kong time).
She had a shaky start to the round and fell out of the top 10 on the leader board after her second bogey. However, using her knowledge of the course, where she would regularly practise while with University of Southern California, Chan played it safe and picked up a solid birdie on nine and then sank a pin-high eagle putt on 15 after pulling her approach shot.
“I really wanted my first top 10,” said Chan, who also birdied the par-three 18th. “I been working on my mental [strength] a little bit, so I just have to structure myself not to think about results, just keep the process going, and it worked.
“LA is a special place to me. Playing well in the LA Open is one of … like a major. I mean, I represented SC before and lived here for a while, and playing well here is really big for me because I don’t think this course is easy at all.”
Canada’s Brooke Henderson shot a four-under 67 to beat three-round leader Jessica Korda by one stroke for the title, finishing on 16-under 268. Australian Hannah Green and South Korean Ko Jin-young were joint third on 270, two strokes ahead of Korean Ryu So-yeon and American Angela Stanford in joint fifth. Another Korean, Lee Jeong-eun was alone in seventh place on 273.
Chan earned US$35,229 for her performance, taking her season’s earnings to US$43,516 while her money list ranking rose to 64 from 119. It was the third tournament in a row in which she made the cut, finishing T64 at the Lotte Championship and T66 at the Kia Classic.
The Hong Kong Golf Club ambassador went into the tournament with a fresh mentality, hoping to play it safe during the first two rounds, make the cut and then try to be more aggressive. Her opening round of 67 went to plan and in the end, she simply took her chances at the right moments.
“Because I felt like I’m hitting it like the first day, like my energy is back and I know I could have a lot of birdie opportunities out there, you just got to be patient. It’s windy. Everyone was struggling today, I think,” she said.
“So I just be patient and wait for the easier holes to make more birdies, and I hit a lot of good shots out there. I just made an eagle there kind of kept me going. And then I’m finishing all the holes really good, so I’m really proud of what I did today.”
The tour heads to Asia for tournaments in Singapore and Thailand but Chan is taking three weeks off and targeting a return at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she is based.
