Amy Yang celebrates her victory. Picture by Getty Images.
Pattaya, Thailand:
Amy Yang had finished in the top-five in three of the last four tournaments she had played in dating back to 2014. Today she was finally able to break through. Battling
Stacy Lewis, Yang won the 2015 Honda LPGA Thailand by two strokes over
Mirim Lee,
Tseng Ya-ni and Lewis.
After the final putt dropped, Yang could not hide her shock. “I don’t know what just happened. I still can’t believe I did it today,” said the Korean, who posted a 72-hole total of 15-under-par 273
Yang and Lewis were tied atop the leaderboard heading into the par-four 15th at Siam Country Club’s Old Course. There, Lewis made a double-bogey and Yang made birdie. That three-stroke swing proved decisive.
“We had three more holes to go and they’re not easy,” Yang said when asked if she thought she had a chance at that point. “So I just kept focusing.”
Yang took an extended break this off-season to rest both her mind and her body. She said she was tired of what she was doing. During that break, she started to get her drive back and her desire to play golf again.
“Over the winter while I was resting I wanted to play more golf,” Yang said. “Finally my mind changed and I wanted to go back there and play in contention if I can.”
She found herself back in contention again and this time came out on top, winning her second career tournament and first since the 2013 LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship.