World No. 1 female golfer Yani Tseng of Taiwan captured her seventh Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour victory of the 2011 season before a home crowd of over 28,000 Oct. 23.
The 22-year-old athlete lived up to the expectations of local fans at the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship, the first LPGA tournament to be held in Taiwan, shooting a final round six-under 66 to finish at 16-under 272, for a five-stroke victory over Spain’s Azahara Munoz and South Korea’s Amy Yang.
“It’s so exciting, especially winning this tournament in front of the big crowd from Taiwan,” Tseng said. “I try to do my best to win because this is the tournament I really want. It’s the first time in Taiwan and I finally did it.”
Tseng’s prize money of US$300,000 boosted her tour-leading total to US$2,873,629. Immediately following play she announced a donation of US$100,000 to the Golf Association of the Republic of China to help develop young talent.
Local media reported that the four-day tournament at the Sunrise Gold and Country Club in Taoyuan County, which Tseng had worked for two years to bring to Taiwan, drew a gallery of over 66,000. Fans waved ROC national flags along the course and joyously mobbed participating foreign golfers, demonstrating their excitement and support for the game.
Tseng said she was happy that the tournament attracted such great local support. “Golf was not as popular as baseball or basketball here but now it seems [fans] are growing, and I’m really happy to see this, as well as the growing support for all kinds of sports in Taiwan.”
With two more tournaments to play this year, Tseng said, “I wish I could win more tournaments, keep learning and get some more experience to make more history.”
The win was Tseng’s 12th LPGA title in three years on the tour. 2011 has been a banner year for her as she became the youngest player, male or female, to win five major professional championships, was named the LPGA Player of the Year for a second straight year and garnered the world’s top ranking. (THN)