Somi Lee Ties for Fourth... Thitikul Claims Victory After Five Playoff Holes

3-Under in Buick LPGA Shanghai Final Round
Five Top-10 Finishes This Season, Including One Win
Thitikul Claims Second Win of the Season and Sixth Career Victory

Somi Lee finished in the top 5.

On October 12, at the Qizhong Garden Golf Club (par 72, 6,703 yards) in Shanghai, China, during the fourth round of the LPGA Tour Asian Swing Buick LPGA Shanghai (total prize money: 2.2 million dollars), Lee carded four birdies and one bogey for a 3-under-par 69. With a final total of 17-under-par 271, she tied for fourth place alongside Miyu Yamashita (Japan) and Jenny Bae (USA). Including her victory at the Dow Championship, a two-person team event in June, Lee has now finished in the top 10 five times this year.

Somi Lee performed well, tying for 4th place at the Buick LPGA Shanghai. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Lee started the day tied for fourth, three shots off the lead. She remained in contention with birdies on the 9th and 13th holes, but a bogey on the par-3 16th halted her momentum. Although she made back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, they did not affect the outcome of the tournament. Her shot accuracy was notable, missing only one fairway and one green in regulation. However, her 32 putts left something to be desired.

World No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) secured a come-from-behind victory with a 24-under-par 264. She fired a 9-under-par 63 to tie Minami Katsu (Japan), then clinched the win with a birdie on the fifth playoff hole (par 4, 10th hole). This marked her second win of the season and sixth career victory, coming five months after her previous win at the Mizuho Americas Open in May. The winner’s prize was 330,000 dollars (approximately 470 million won).

Katsu, who led after the previous round, fought hard with a 7-under-par but was ultimately overtaken by Thitikul. Katsu debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2023 and is still seeking her first victory. Minjee Lee (Australia) finished third (19-under-par 269), Jieun Shin tied for seventh (16-under-par 272), and Kim A Lim placed tenth (15-under-par 273). Hyejin Choi tied for 11th (13-under-par 275), Kim Seyoung tied for 15th (12-under-par 276), Lim Jinhui tied for 22nd (10-under-par 278), and Yoon Ina tied for 26th (9-under-par 279).