The last threesome at the Trust Golf Women's Scottish Open on Sunday was made up of Lydia Ko, Celine Boutier, and Maude-Aimee Leblanc. Ko and Boutier were tied for the lead in the final round, while Leblanc was a shot back.
Before beginning play on the par-5 18th hole at Dundonald Links, all three had been mathematically eliminated from contention.
That's because Ayaka Furue, the 22-year-old reigning Japan LPGA player of the year, started the final round in the fourth-to-last group and then mounted an incredible comeback despite being four strokes adrift after 54 holes. She shot a course-record 10-under 62 in her round, propelled by a streak of six consecutive birdies that began on the sixth hole. She also became the first female LPGA champion.
I believed it would be challenging to catch the best players, said Furue. But I'm pretty glad I could win because I performed well.
Furue recorded ten birdies, but impressively, just one of them—at No. 18—came on a par-5. She almost made mid-iron shots into the hole at the par-4 eighth and par-3 eleventh holes during her six-birdie run. At the par-3 15th hole, she nailed a 40-footer for birdie to grab the lead for the first time.
With birdies on her final two holes, including one from 25 feet at the par-4 17th, she gained a significant lead.
Furue claimed, "I had the perfect attitude: I thought I had to go low, and I played exceptionally well.
I made accurate shots. My game was strong overall, and I could make the birdie putts I needed and wanted to make.
While only making 14 birdies in total, the final group scored 4. Boutier eventually finished second alone, ahead of Cheyenne Knight and Hyo Joo Kim. Leblanc had a T-8 and Ko a T-5.
Ko remarked, "I feel like I wasn't able to start things over this weekend, never really got off to like a strong momentum." I performed exceptionally well overall. Even throughout the past few days, I made a few poor shots, but overall, I believe there were many positive developments. As I previously mentioned, there are moments when you go into a rut.
But I wasn't on that train this weekend. Hopefully, this will give next week's events some impetus.
Furue's debut season on the LPGA had been somewhat unspectacular. Before this week, she had made 15 starts and had only missed two cuts. She also had only one top-10 finish, a second-place finish at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play. Before receiving her LPGA card through the Q-Series, she won her home tour three times on the JLPGA, where she has won seven times since turning pro in 2019.
She had earlier this year risen as high as No. 14 in the world rankings but had subsequently fallen to No. 30, though she will make a significant improvement after Sunday's historic victory.
Furue admitted, "I didn't imagine I would win as a rookie." "I'm quite appreciative and delighted that I was successful at a links course."
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