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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michelle Wie of U.S. tees off from the 10th hole during the final round of the LPGA Thailand golf tournament in Pattaya, southern Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng showed why she is the No. 1 player in the world during today’s final round of the Honda LPGA Thailand held at the Siam Country Club course in Chonburi, Thailand.
Tseng fashioned a 6-under 66 to finish at 15-under 273 to beat Honolulu’s Michelle Wie (70—278) by five shots. South Korea’s I.K. Kim (71—279) and former world No. 1 Karrie Webb (69—279) tied for third at 9 under for the tournament, one shot in back of Wie.
Wie and Tseng were in the final pairing and had quite a match going through the opening nine holes, before Wie cooled off considerably on the back. At the turn, Tseng held a one-shot lead over Wie and Kim as all three golfers went out in 3-under 33.
But over the closing nine holes Wie shot a 1-over 37, Kim fashioned a 2-over 38 thanks to a staggering nine at the par-4 17th and Tseng managed a 3-under 33 to seal the deal.
It was Wie’s seventh runner-up finish on the LPGA Tour; the last two in head-to-head matches with Tseng, who has now won her last three starts. Wie carded three birdies on the front and one bogey at the 17th on the back nine. The Punahou School graduate didn’t have a birdie over her last 10 holes.
