Ariya Jutanugarn Wins 2013 Lalla Meryem Cup

Ariya Jutanugarn, 2013 Lalla Meryem Cup winner (click to enlarge)

The toughest day watching professional women’s golf for me occured earlier this year at the 2013 Honda LPGA Thailand event. I am a big fan of Ariya and Moriya, the Jutanugarn sisters. Ariya stood on the tee of the 72nd hole of the tournament with a 2 shot lead. She was denied an age-exemption by the LPGA and thus could not go to Q-school to qualify for the tour. But with a sponsor’s exemption into Honda, she was poised to emphatically prove she belonged. She had captured the attention of her native Thailand, thrilling them with a hole in one earlier in the round. And then it all went wrong. The golf gods were not on her side that day as she would triple bogey the final hole to lose by 1 shot and leave the hometown crowd, and me watching and pulling for her, despondent and crestfallen. Of course, none of us felt those emotions more than Ariya, who sought comfort in the arms of her sister, Moriya.

Moriya wipes away a tear for Ariya (click to enlarge)

Like In-Kyung Kim following her final hole letdown at the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship, Ariya shed her tears and then gathered herself and soon put her ubiquitous smile back on her face. She answered all the questions and dealt with what should have been her greatest professional moment ever, a 2nd place finish in an LPGA event, becoming her most disappointing. She bounced back on another exemption to finish 4th at the HSBC Women’s Champions. In addition to the 2 LPGA top 5s, she also finished runner-up at the Ladies European Tour (LET) Volvik RACV Ladies Masters. Ever since watching Jenny Chuasiriporn battle valiantly against Se Ri Pak at the 1998 US Women’s Open, I have been waiting for that special Thai talent who could challenge the best in the world and be among the top 10 women’s players in the world. She has a long way to get to that level, but maybe Ariya Jutanugarn is the chosen one.

click to enlarge

With 4 rounds in the 60s, including 3 straight 67s to close the tournament, Ariya won the 2013 Lalla Meyrem Cup on the LET. The Ladies European Tour, unlike the LPGA, allowed Ariya to qualify for their circuit. The choice is paying off as she is off to a flying start. Not only does she appear likely to cruise to Rookie of the Year honors, she also seems to have a shot at the overall Order of Merit. There’s a lot of golf left to be played, so I don’t want to get ahead of things too much. Still, she clearly is special. I can’t wait to see what she will accomplish next.

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Pos.	Player	Cty	R 1	R 2	R 3	R 4	Score	Dif.	Prize
1	Ariya JUTANUGARN		69	67	67	67	270	-14	€ 48,750.00
2	Beth ALLEN		70	68	67	68	273	-11	€ 27,868.75
	Charley HULL		68	70	64	71	273	-11	€ 27,868.75
4	Katie BURNETT		70	70	65	69	274	-10	€ 17,550.00
5	Mikaela PARMLID		73	66	69	68	276	-8	€ 13,780.00
6	Sarah KEMP		72	68	69	69	278	-6	€ 10,562.50
	Marianne SKARPNORD		66	76	70	66	278	-6	€ 10,562.50
8	Klara SPILKOVA		72	70	71	66	279	-5	€ 6,971.25
	Laura DAVIES		71	68	69	71	279	-5	€ 6,971.25
	Lee-Anne PACE		70	68	67	74	279	-5	€ 6,971.25
	Melissa REID		69	71	70	69	279	-5	€ 6,971.25
12	Cheyenne WOODS		72	73	69	66	280	-4	€ 5,167.50
	Celine PALOMAR		72	68	74	66	280	-4	€ 5,167.50
	Emma CABRERA-BELLO		70	76	68	66	280	-4	€ 5,167.50
	Mallory FRAICHE		70	68	72	70	280	-4	€ 5,167.50
16	Nikki CAMPBELL		71	70	71	69	281	-3	€ 4,680.00
17	Marta SILVA ZAMORA		75	67	73	67	282	-2	€ 4,550.00
18	Linda WESSBERG		73	70	72	68	283	-1	€ 4,249.38
	Karen LUNN		72	73	70	68	283	-1	€ 4,249.38
	Elizabeth BENNETT		72	69	72	70	283	-1	€ 4,249.38
	Line VEDEL		71	71	73	68	283	-1	€ 4,249.38
22	Lydia HALL		74	70	68	72	284	E	€ 3,851.25
	Patricia SANZ (Am)		73	70	74	67	284	E
	Jacqueline HEDWALL		72	72	69	71	284	E	€ 3,851.25
	Valentine DERREY		70	70	72	72	284	E	€ 3,851.25
	Sophie WALKER		69	72	72	71	284	E	€ 3,851.25
27	Amelia LEWIS		76	69	70	70	285	1	€ 3,558.75
	Trish JOHNSON		71	72	70	72	285	1	€ 3,558.75
29	Becky BREWERTON		77	69	71	69	286	2	€ 3,266.25
	Steffi KIRCHMAYR		73	73	71	69	286	2	€ 3,266.25
	Margarita RAMOS		73	69	72	72	286	2	€ 3,266.25
	Margherita RIGON		71	70	71	74	286	2	€ 3,266.25
33	Florentyna PARKER		77	69	66	75	287	3	€ 2,827.50
	Sophie GIQUEL-BETTAN		75	69	73	70	287	3	€ 2,827.50
	Tania ELOSEGUI		74	68	76	69	287	3	€ 2,827.50
	Felicity JOHNSON		72	72	70	73	287	3	€ 2,827.50
	Caroline AFONSO		72	72	69	74	287	3	€ 2,827.50
38	Malene JORGENSEN		74	72	74	68	288	4	€ 2,280.42
	Ann-Kathrin LINDNER		74	72	72	70	288	4	€ 2,280.42
	Noora TAMMINEN		74	71	71	72	288	4	€ 2,280.42
	Stacy Lee BREGMAN		74	71	69	74	288	4	€ 2,280.42
	Stefania CROCE		74	69	77	68	288	4	€ 2,280.42
	Julia DAVIDSSON		73	71	73	71	288	4	€ 2,280.42
44	Jessica KARLSSON		74	70	76	69	289	5	€ 1,787.50
	Connie CHEN		73	72	73	71	289	5	€ 1,787.50
	Maha HADDIOUI		73	72	72	72	289	5	€ 1,787.50
	Ursula WIKSTROM		73	72	70	74	289	5	€ 1,787.50
	Megan GREHAN		72	72	75	70	289	5	€ 1,787.50
	Gwladys NOCERA		72	71	71	75	289	5	€ 1,787.50
50	Marjet VAN DER GRAAFF		74	71	75	70	290	6	€ 1,365.00
	Joanna KLATTEN		74	71	74	71	290	6	€ 1,365.00
	Jia Yun LI		74	70	74	72	290	6	€ 1,365.00
	Smriti MEHRA		72	71	76	71	290	6	€ 1,365.00
	Tara DAVIES		72	71	70	77	290	6	€ 1,365.00
	Anne-Lise CAUDAL		72	70	71	77	290	6	€ 1,365.00
	Holly CLYBURN		69	71	80	70	290	6	€ 1,365.00
57	Veronica ZORZI		72	74	73	72	291	7	€ 1,105.00
	Kelsey MACDONALD (Am)		70	73	74	74	291	7
59	Sophie SANDOLO		74	72	74	72	292	8	€ 1,072.50
60	Xi Yu LIN		75	71	70	77	293	9	€ 1,040.00
61	Stefanie MICHL		72	74	73	75	294	10	€ 1,007.50
62	Paula HURTADO		76	67	77	80	300	16	€ 958.75
	Georgina SIMPSON		73	72	78	77	300	16	€ 958.75
64	Zuzana KAMASOVA		71	73	79	78	301	17	€ 910.00

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THE CUT: 146 STROKES

Pos.	Player (click for Scorecard)	Cty	R 1	R 2	R 3	R 4	Score	Dif.	Prize
65	Cathryn BRISTOW		78	69			147	5	–
	Cassandra KIRKLAND		78	69			147	5	–
	Rebecca ARTIS		77	70			147	5	–
	Tandi CUNINGHAM		76	71			147	5	–
	Daniela HOLMQVIST		75	72			147	5	–
	Jade SCHAEFFER		72	75			147	5	–
	Anais MAGGETTI		72	75			147	5	–
72	Emily TAYLOR		79	69			148	6	–
	Caroline WESTRUP		76	72			148	6	–
	Bree ARTHUR		75	73			148	6	–
	Bonita BREDENHANN		75	73			148	6	–
	Melanie MAETZLER		74	74			148	6	–
	Isabell GABSA		73	75			148	6	–
	Nina HOLLEDER		73	75			148	6	–
	Pamela PRETSWELL		72	76			148	6	–
	Melissa EATON		67	81			148	6	–
81	Louise LARSSON		79	70			149	7	–
	Alexandra VILATTE		79	70			149	7	–
	Sharmila NICOLLET		78	71			149	7	–
	Rebecca HUDSON		76	73			149	7	–
	Yu Yang ZHANG		76	73			149	7	–
	Hannah BURKE		75	74			149	7	–
	Mireia PRAT		74	75			149	7	–
	Tanaporn KONGKIATKRAI		74	75			149	7	–
89	Camilla LENNARTH		80	70			150	8	–
	Laura CABANILLAS		79	71			150	8	–
	Julie MAISONGROSSE		77	73			150	8	–
	Sahra HASSAN		76	74			150	8	–
	Isabella RAMSAY		76	74			150	8	–
94	Stephanie NA		79	72			151	9	–
	Holly AITCHISON		78	73			151	9	–
	Laurette MARITZ		77	74			151	9	–
	Melodie BOURDY		77	74			151	9	–
	Carly BOOTH		76	75			151	9	–
	Elina NUMMENPAA		75	76			151	9	–
	Katy MCNICOLL		75	76			151	9	–
	Helena CALLAHAN		75	76			151	9	–
	Sara WIKSTROM		74	77			151	9	–
103	Morgana ROBBERTZE		78	74			152	10	–
	Kylie WALKER		77	75			152	10	–
	Maria SALINAS		77	75			152	10	–
	Fiona PUYO		77	75			152	10	–
	Lucie ANDRE		77	75			152	10	–
108	Marion RICORDEAU		80	73			153	11	–
	Cecilie LUNDGREEN		77	76			153	11	–
	Virginia ESPEJO		75	78			153	11	–
111	Whitney HILLIER		79	75			154	12	–
	Maria BALIKOEVA		78	76			154	12	–
	Vikki LAING		77	77			154	12	–
	Barbara GENUINI		76	78			154	12	–
	Julie OTTO		74	80			154	12	–
116	Leigh WHITTAKER		84	71			155	13	–
	Rochelle MORRIS (Am)		79	76			155	13	–
	Liebelei LAWRENCE		78	77			155	13	–
119	Amy BOULDEN (Am)		82	74			156	14	–
	Ana LARRANETA		79	77			156	14	–
121	Eva BJARVALL		78	81			159	17	–
122	Charlotte ELLIS		83	77			160	18	–
123	Rebecca SORENSEN		84	77			161	19	–
124	Kaisa RUUTTILA		84	78			162	20	–

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