2013 Honda LPGA Thailand Final Round: My First Time Unable To Watch An LPGA Round

Moriya Jutanugarn Tries To Console sister Ariya Jutanugarn (click to enlarge)

I’ve seen lots of LPGA golfers snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I still feel for In-Kyung Kim lipping out a 1 footer to win the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship. It happens. You have to play all 72 holes (and sometimes more). I feel for the players but I watch. This one is different. Ariya Jutanugarn had a 2 shot lead going into the final hole of the 2013 Honda LPGA Thailand. After playing the first 71 holes at 14-under, she triple bogeyed the final hole to lose by 1 shot to Inbee Park. First of all, let me get this out of the way; congratulations to Inbee Park and full credit to her. She is a brilliant player and deserved the win because she was the best through all 72 holes. Ariya was the best through 71 holes. I have no sour grapes or bad feelings about Inbee. I love the Queen Bee and look forward to following her this year. That said, I cannot watch the final round of the tournament. Unlike the KNC, this tournament was broadcast on delay. Some people don’t like knowing the score of a delayed broadcast. I’m glad I did. Because I would have been a mess watching what unfolded on 18 live. Look, I didn’t expect Ariya to win the event when it started. And even going into the final round I knew there was a chance somebody could catch her and pass her. But what happened was the worst case scenario (other than being DQed) that I could imagine. What makes it so bad for me of course is that Ariya is Thai and the event was in Thailand. I am half-Thai and while I could take her not winning, to have it come down this way. Painful. Since I didn’t watch it or follow all of the action, this will be the extent of my blog post for this round and this tournament. I just wanted to give my thoughts on Ariya and also congratulate Inbee for her win. So no videos or lots of photos this time. It’s off to Singapore.