LPGA rookie An Na-rin finishes third at JTBC Classic

An Na-rin hits her tee shot on the first hole during the third round of the JTBC LPGA golf tournament in Carlsbad, California on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Korean rookie An Na-rin finished third at the JTBC Classic at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California on Sunday, finishing one shot away from joining Atthaya Thitikul and Nanna Koerstz Madsen on the playoff hole.

An finished the four rounds with 15 under par, 273, slipping from second to third with a 68 in the final round on Sunday.

Thitikul leapfrogged both An and Madsen on Sunday with a huge eight under par, 64, for the final round.

Four Korean golfers finished within the top 10, with world No. 1 Ko Jin-young tying for fourth place with 14 under, 274, followed by 2021 champion Park In-bee tied for eighth on 277 and Amy Yang in 10th on 278.

KLPGA star An earned her LPGA Tour card this year after winning the two week LPGA Q-Series in December last year. She has competed in three tournaments so far this season, finishing 34th at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in January, 37th at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony and third on Sunday.

Still in the very early days of her LPGA career, An has already earned $119,210 and sits at No. 23 on the Race to CME Globe standings.

“I think I played well overall, but there were some parts that were a bit disappointing,” An said. “With a major tournament next week, I want to focus on my game even more.”

An had 11 top-10 finishes on the Korean tour last year, with two runner-up finishes at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship and the Dongbu Construction KOREIT Championship. An tied for third at the BMW Ladies Championship, a joint tournament between the KLPGA and LPGA.

The LPGA will continue its West Coast swing this Thursday with The Chevron Championship at Rancho Mirage, California. Korea's Lee Mi-rim and Ko are among the recent winners at the tournament, with Lee winning in 2020 and the world No. 1 lifting the trophy in 2019.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]