Moriya Jutanugarn comes out victorious in the Portland Classic

PORTLAND, Ore. — Moriya Jutanugarn came from a tight field Sunday afternoon at Columbia Edgewater to win the Portland Classic for his third LPGA Tour title and his first victory in more than six years.

Three strokes behind leader Andrea Lee going into the round, Jutanugarn shot a 6-under 66 in cool conditions to win by two strokes over three players.

“It’s been a long time since I last won,” said Jutanugarn. “Being in contention for the last few days, it’s good. I feel like I haven’t participated in a long time.”

Jutanugarn finished at 22-under 266, playing the first 71 holes without a bogey. The 30-year-old Thai player hit 13-15 and made an 8-footer to save the par-3 16th. He made a short birdie putt on the par-4 17th and closed with a bogey.

“When you make that putt, it feels a lot better and it takes a lot of pressure off,” Jutanugarn said of the par save on 16.

Narin An (66), Nataliya Guseva (68) and Angel Yin (69) tied for second. The 21-year-old Guseva is the first Russian player to hold an LPGA Tour card.

“Really, I’m very happy,” said Guseva. “I put a lot of work into that, but at the same time, I’m disappointed because I knew I could easily win this thing.”

Jutanugarn’s previous victory on the LPGA Tour came at the 2018 HUGEL-JTBC LA Open. In 2021, she teamed up with her younger sister Ariya Jutanugarn to win the 2021 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

“I’m very happy and proud of him, because as I know (he’s been waiting) for a long time,” said Ariya Jutanugarn, the 12-time LPGA Tour winner who closed with a 65 on Sunday to tie for ninth at 17 under.

Sofia Garcia (68) and So Mi Lee (70) tied for fifth at 19 under, while second-round leader Dewi Weber (72) was another stroke back.

Lee, who won in 2022 for his only LPGA Tour title, had a 74 to finish in the group at 17 under.

Weber came back with a double bogey on the par-4 15th and a bogey on the 16th. He was trying to win for the first time on the LPGA Tour and sent a statement to the Dutch Olympic committee that they made a mistake by refusing to send. he went to Paris.

He qualified for the Olympics under the standards of the International Golf Federation but was left out due to the Netherlands’ different standards for all sports to meet a realistic chance of finishing in the top-8.

With the Olympics being played next week, none of the top 30 in the world were on the field. The lone Olympian in Portland was India’s Aditi Ashok. He finished with a 72 to tie for 22 at 14 under.