England’s Charley Hull captured her third LPGA title on Sunday at the Queen City Championship with a dramatic last-hole birdie after Thailand’s world No 1 Jeeno Thitikul squandered the lead with a four-putt bogey.
Hull, a four-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, added to her LPGA victories at the 2016 Tour Championship and 2022 Volunteers of America Classic, having also finished runner-up at last year’s Queen City event.
The 29-year-old carded a four-under 68 in the final round to finish on 20-under 268, edging Jeeno by a single stroke at TPC River’s Bend in Cincinnati, Ohio.
At the par-five 18th, Jeeno led by one but faltered badly. The top-ranked player and LPGA’s best putter missed a five-foot birdie attempt, then lipped out from four feet for par – leaving Hull to convert a two-foot birdie putt for victory.
“I thought I had to make eagle to be fair,” Hull said. “I wasn’t really watching her putt for birdie because I thought she was going to hole it.
“I guess it’s not over until the fat lady sings, but I was shaking over that last putt because I just didn’t expect it. But yeah, it feels great.”
Hull had earlier drained a long birdie putt at the par-three 16th to draw level, only to find a bunker off the tee at 17 and drop a shot.
“At 17, I hit a decent tee shot,” she said. “The bunker was fine but I was in the lip. If it was three feet back I would’ve had a shot at the green. To get that one back and birdie the last, it’s pretty cool.”
Hull, who started the day with a one-shot lead, strung together three birdies in a row beginning at the par-five 6th, added another at the par-five 11th, before a bogey at 13 halted her momentum.
Jeeno opened with a birdie-bogey start, then surged with birdies at the 4th and par-three 7th. She caught fire on the back nine, making back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11 and grabbing the outright lead with a birdie at the 14th. She preserved her advantage with a gritty par save from a bunker at 15 – but the closing hole proved her undoing.
England’s Lottie Woad finished third on 18-under 270, with Japan’s Miyu Yamashita fourth on 17-under 271.
A group on 15-under 273 tied for fifth included Japan’s Nasa Hataoka and Chisato Iwai, world No 2 Nelly Korda, fellow American Jennifer Kupcho, Sweden’s Maja Stark, South Korea’s Kim Sei-young and China’s Mary Liu.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images
