Angel Yin secured her second tour title Sunday with a winning score of 28-under 260 in the Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course.
The world No. 17 delivered a flawless final-round 65 to edge Japanese rookie Akie Iwai by one.
“I wasn’t that comfortable because Akie shot 10 under the first day and this course is very gettable. So I just had to keep my head down,” said Yin.
Her winning total was three strokes shy of the LPGA’s 72-hole scoring record, set by Sei Young Kim, who shot 31-under-par 257 to win the 2018 Thornberry Classic.
Despite starting the final round with a five-stroke advantage, Yin faced relentless pressure from sponsor invite Iwai, who charged up the leaderboard and momentarily shared the lead at 24-under after a birdie on the 12th hole. However, Yin, who last triumphed at the 2023 Buick LPGA Shanghai, responded with three consecutive birdies to regain control and never looked back.
The 26-year-old is the fourth American to capture the LPGA Thailand title, joining Lilia Vu (2023), Jessica Korda (2018), and Lexi Thompson (2016).
Yin, who was sidelined by a broken foot a year ago at this time, used a backup caddie in Sakchai “Tom” Sirimaya this week after her regular, Michelle Simpson, fell ill prior to the opening round.
“It was like three minutes before my [Thursday] tee time and I was like expecting him to be someone’s dad,” Yin said Sunday.
“My bag is quite heavy. My friend who is my manager, she tried and she almost fell over. She weighs as much as the golf bag, so there was no way that was going to happen. We were kind of desperate. Tom was like, ‘Oh, I’m a professional caddie.’ He caddies on the Japanese Senior Tour and Asian Tour. You really can’t pick someone that good just out of nowhere, and so he was on my bag.”
Honda LPGA Thailand 2025 prize money: How much winner Angel Yin and the field earned
Full prize-money payout from the LPGA Honda Thailand, won by Angel Yin
Despite finishing second, Iwai made history of her own, firing a tournament-low round of 61. She carded 10 birdies and a closing eagle against a lone bogey to settle at 261.
World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand was in third place with a final-round 66, finishing at 267. Defending champion Patty Tavatanakit and fellow Thai Moriya Jutanugarn shared fourth place at 269.
The event is the first stop of the LPGA’s Asian swing before the tour moves to Singapore and China over the next two weeks.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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