Bank of Hope Match Play Pajaree Anannarukarn tops Ayaka Furue in final

Pajaree Anannarukarn outlasted Ayaka Furue to claim her second LPGA title at the Bank of Hope Match Play. The Thai player thrived in a marathon week of golf at picturesque Shadow Creek, pouring in eight birdies in a semifinal match against Linn Grant and then hanging tough to defeat Furue, 3 and  1, on a hot and windy day in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Anannarukarn, 23, claimed her first LPGA title two years ago at the ISPS Handa World Invitational in a playoff against Emma Talley in Northern Ireland. When it was over in Vegas, Anannarukarn talked about the grind it took to get back to the winner’s circle.

“Golf is just, sometimes it’s hard to come back up,” she told Golf Channel after the round. “I tried in every possible way to improve on my game and keep believing.”

After 116 holes over five days, your @LPGAMatchPlay Champion is @MeawPajaree!🏆 pic.twitter.com/zQ7KSiqFLt

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 29, 2023

With the victory, Anannarukarn earned $225,000 and a spot in the field at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links. She notched 12 birdies in 34 holes on Sunday.

Anannarukarn has worked with Claude Harmon III since November 2019. Because Harmon is on a different travel schedule, mostly working on the men’s tours, the pair only see each other a couple times a year. She noted that she’s mostly focused now on her swing rotation.

It was an early birthday present for Anannarukarn, who played a total of 116 holes over the course of the week, beating the likes of Carlota Ciganda, Cheyenne Knight and Karis Davidson in a playoff just to advance out of the round-robin portion of the event. She turns 24 in two days.

Now in her fifth season on tour, Anannarukarn joins Atthaya Thitikul (2), Moriya Jutanugarn (2), Jasmine Suwannapura (2) and Ariya Jutanugarn (12) as Thai players with at least two LPGA titles in their career.

Japan’s Furue played her way into the championship match for a second consecutive year and nearly pulled off some late-round heroics when her final shot from the bunker flirted with the hole.

Because there was no consolation match this year, Leona Maguire and Grant split third-place points and prize money. This was Grant’s first start in the U.S. as an LPGA member.

The former Arizona State player has competed around the world – quite successfully – since turning professional nearly two years ago, but could not compete in the U.S. due to COVID-19 restrictions that require international visitors to be fully…