HAINAN, China: Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn fell one shot short of her first LPGA victory after a stirring final-round battle with winner Feng Shanshan of China in the Blue Bay tournament on Saturday.
The victory means that Feng, who also won last week in Japan, is now poised to become the first Chinese golfer, male or female, to top the world professional rankings.
Feng, who started the week ranked third, is projected to rise to top spot, dethroning South Korean rookie Park Sung-hyun, when the new rankings are released on Monday, the LPGA said.
Both Feng and Moriya posted fourth-round scores of 2 under par, with the Chinese player recording four birdies and two bogeys to finish at 9-under for the event. Moriya, with five birdies and three bogeys, was unable to close the gap and finished at 8-under at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course in Sanya on the Chinese resort island.
Moriya had a chance to force a playoff on the final hole but her birdie attempt just lipped out.
Neither woman was seriously challenged in the final round, with their closest pursuers, including Jessica Korda of the US and Park Sung-hyun of Korea, finishing at 4-under.
"I finished first in China, so I actually claimed the world number one in front of all the people at home," said Feng, 28, who is from Guangzhou and turned professional a decade ago.
"Hopefully there will be more Chinese getting on the tours and more world number ones coming up from China. I just want 2017 to keep going. A never-ending 2017, that would be great."
Moriya took her loss in stride, complimenting the Chinese crowd for cheering on one of their own to victory.
“Of course everybody is cheering for her. Shanshan is a great player and I'm very happy for her that she played really solid,” said Moriya. “She had a really good week in her home country, which is really cool.”
Moriya now has 11 top-ten finishes including six top-5 placings this year and has earned more than $1.1 million. While she is still looking for her first LPGA tournament victory, she has moved up 10 places in the world rankings and is likely to be higher than her current 25th position when the new rankings are announced.
Sister Ariya, who has six wins on the LPGA tour and briefly held the world No.1 spot this year before struggling with shoulder trouble, finished the tournament at even par.
