Double bogey takes Amy Yang out of the running at Meijer LPGA Classic

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Double bogey takes Amy Yang out of the running at Meijer LPGA Classic

Published: 19 Jun. 2023, 17:36 Updated: 19 Jun. 2023, 17:43

Amy Yang hits her approach shot on the 14th fairway during the final round of the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Amy Yang narrowly missed out on winning the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan on Sunday, dropping down to third on the final day after hitting a double bogey.

Yang displayed a remarkable performance throughout the tournament and climbed all the way up to the frontrunner position on moving day.

She continued that momentum until the end of the final round, managing an eagle on the par-5 14th. A double bogey on the par-4 16th hole, however, forced her to cede the top spot to Leona Maguire.

Yang managed a par and birdie in the last two holes, but failed to close the gap with Maguire, finishing tied for third with three-under-par, 69, for a final score of 18-under-par, 270 — three more strokes than Maguire.

Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand came in second with 19-under-par, 269, with Xiyu Lin of China tying with Yang.

Sunday’s result was still Yang’s best finish of the season. The closest Yang had come to winning a title this year was tying for fourth at the Chevron Championship in April.

She did not even make the cut at the Cognizant Founders Cup last month, before tying for 49th at the Mizuho Americas Open earlier this month.

Yang, who has four LPGA titles, last won a title at the 2019 Honda LPGA Thailand, which she won three times in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

The LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship in 2013 remains the only other event she has won.

Kim Hyo-joo managed the second-best finish by a Korean golfer, coming in fifth with 16-under-par, 272.

Ko Jin-young, ranked at No. 1 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, did not compete in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

Ko is still the only Korean to have secured a victory this season — first at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March and again at the Founders Cup on May 14.

The LPGA will continue on Thursday with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship — the second major of the season with Chun In-gee as defending champion — set to tee off at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]