Amy Yang would be a pretty good bet to win the Honda LPGA Thailand in 2021. By capturing this year’s event, Yang has now won the tournament in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
This year’s victory came courtesy of some solid ball striking and timely putting, especially in the final round. After an up-and-down birdie at the par-5 first, Yang ran off a string of five consecutive birdies and six in seven holes (foiled only by a missed four-footer for birdie at the ninth) that saw some highlight-reel stuff.
Yang holed a lengthy downhill putt with the flagstick in on the 4th, and followed that with an iron shot to 10 feet and another birdie putt to take the outright lead on the fifth. Another 15-footer at the sixth kept the momentum going and an up-and-down birdie from a bunker on the par-5 seventh gave her four in a row. At the par-3 eighth she staked a 7-iron shot on the 155-yard hole and made the four-footer for a three-shot lead.
Even with the early fireworks, Yang had work to do. A key par-save putt on the 11th kept her in the lead, but she fell into a three-way tie after a bogey on 14 before jamming in a 25-footer from the fringe on the 16th to re-take the lead. A 4-iron shot from 184 yards on the par-5 finishing hole ended up on the back fringe where a two-putt birdie proved to be enough to secure the title.
Yang finished with a seven-under-par 65 (she hasn’t shot over par on at this event since the third round in 2014) and 22 under for the tournament.
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Yang hit 59 of 72 greens in regulation with her Fourteen Golf TC 788 Forged irons, a design with a compact head shape and an undercut cavity that results in a deep center of gravity. Her putter is Odyssey O-Works #7 Red, a mallet-style with “wings” to boost forgiveness on mis-hits. Notably, she also employed Breakthrough Golf’s Stability Shaft utilizes a multi-material approach along with different geometries. The result is a shaft that looks significantly different (considerably narrower at the bottom) and is designed to deliver the face more squarely, while producing a lower launch for a more predictable roll, thus resulting in better distance control.
The combination worked for Yang as she averaged 28 putts per round and took only 54 over the final 36 holes. “I think when, hitting and putting like works well together, the score goes low,” Yange said after her win. That combination certainly came in handy for her in Thailand.
What Amy Yang had in the bag at the Honda LPGA Thailand
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero, 10.5 degrees
3-wood: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero, 15 degrees
Hybrid: TaylorMade M3, 19 degrees
Irons (4-PW): Fourteen TC 788 Forged
Wedges: Callaway Mack Daddy 4 (50, 54, 58 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey O-Works #7 Red