NORTON, Mass. — Miranda Wang lost the lead to the top-ranked player in women’s golf, then delivered the clutch shots over the final three holes for a 2-under-par 70 and a one-shot win over Jeeno Thitikul on Sunday in the FM Championship for her first LPGA Tour victory.
Wang became the seventh rookie to win this year, extending a remarkable streak of no multiple winners through the LPGA’s first 23 tournaments of the year.
“I hope this is the first of many, and I’ll keep working hard,” said Wang, the 26-year-old Chinese player who delivered the winning point when Duke won the NCAA Division I women’s team title in 2019. “This is a dream come true.”
Thitikul, the 22-year-old from Thailand who took over the No. 1 spot in the Women’s World Golf Rankings from American star Nelly Korda three weeks ago, was poised to end that streak and ruin Wang’s hopes when she hit a wedge shot that left the ball two feet away from the cup on No. 9. She converted for. her fifth birdie to go out in 31at TPC Boston and tie for the lead.
Wang showed some nerves when she jabbed at a three-foot birdie putt she missed on the par-5 12th. Then she came up well short from the fairway on No. 15 into a bunker, didn’t reach the green and took a bogey to fall out of the lead.