'Team Match Victory' Jjutangun Sisters "Did You See the 59?"... Lee Jeong-eun 6 and Heo Mi-jung Tied for 6th Place

Final Day of Doug Great Lakes Bay Invitational: 11-Under Par Combined '3-Shot Victory', 2019 Champion Swannapura-Clanton Finishes 2nd

Eriya (left) and Moriya Jutanugarn sisters are posing proudly with the trophy right after winning the Doug Great Lakes Bay Invitational. Midland (USA) = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] ‘59-stroke finishing power’.

This is the perfect harmony of Thai sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn. On the 18th (Korean time) at Midland Golf Course in Michigan, USA (par 70, 6,256 yards), the final day of the LPGA Tour Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational (total prize money $2.3 million), they combined for an impressive 11-under-par to achieve a 3-stroke victory (24-under-par 256 strokes). Ariya secured her second win of the season and 13th career victory following the Honda LPGA Thailand in May, while Moriya earned her second career win after 3 years and 3 months since the April 2018 Hugel-LA Open.

This tournament is the only ‘two-player team match’ on the LPGA Tour. The 1st and 3rd rounds are foursomes (two players alternate playing one ball), and the 2nd and 4th rounds are fourballs (each player plays their own ball and the better score counts). The Jutanugarn sisters especially gained momentum in the 2nd and 4th rounds with a combined 11-under-par 59 strokes in fourball. Starting from a tie for 4th place, Ariya made 8 birdies and Moriya 5, overlapping only twice.

Moriya said, "I adjusted my personal schedule from the beginning of the season to participate in this tournament," adding, "Today's strategy was birdie on every hole." She joked, "Ariya made many tee shot mistakes but made up for it with many birdies." For Moriya, the two-year exemption is especially meaningful. The winner’s prize money is $559,000 (about 638 million KRW). It counts toward CME points and the money ranking but does not affect Player of the Year or world ranking points.

The 2019 inaugural champions Jasmine Suwannapura (Thailand) and Sydnee Clanton (USA) finished 2nd (21-under-par 259 strokes). Korea’s Jeong Eun-6 and Hur Mi-jung (both 32, Daebang Construction) tied for 6th place (17-under-par 263 strokes) along with Yang Hee-young (32) and Kang Hye-ji (31). Golf queens Park In-bee (33, KB Financial Group) and Yoo So-yeon (31, Mediheal) tied for 17th place (13-under-par 267 strokes). The top favorites, American sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda, also remained in this group.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.