The LPGA Tour event, the Portland Classic, is finally over after four days of ferocious competition, and the winner amazed everyone. After a special win, the winner longs for unasked appreciation from their seniors, and this came true for Chanettee Wannasaens. After her stunning victory in Oregon, a golf veteran, who herself finished beautifully, could not help but appreciate the upcoming star.
It is moments like these of sheer support and honest sportsmanship that come forward to show why golf is known as the gentlemen’s sport. Let us dive in to find out what the LPGA veteran had to say about the teenage winner of the Portland Classic.
LPGA Veteran pro shows no bad blood for the winner even after finishing close to victory
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Chanettee Wannasaen’s victory in the $1.5 million race was a sheer moment of joy for the fans and fellow golfers to witness. Her stellar final round of 9 under 63, with 7 birdies and 1 bogey pushed her forward for the even stellar win. The teenager’s win was as rare as it was special.
The 19-year-old’s peers knew that her win was truly one of a kind, and did not hesitate in praising her. Carlota Ciganda sat with the media after her sensational final round and finishing in the T3 position.
The interviewer asked her how she felt about her game, and the 33-year-old seemed elated with her game. She appreciated her game, and her score but reiterated, “You have to go low on this course.”
The golfer then went ahead and showered the winner with some kind words. She seemed immensely proud of the 19-year-old winner, as she said, “The girl that I played today, she was just amazing.” She appreciated her score, game, and form, and said, “63 on a Sunday for a rookie and a Monday qualify. I mean, that’s just amazing golf and she deserves to win the tournament.”
Wannasaen went low on the course, and to recreate history after almost 8 years and enter an elite club, that only 2 LPGA Tor golfers were part of before her.
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What made Chanettee Wannasaen’s win special?
Monday Qualifier is an 18-hole tournament that is organized on the Monday before the golf tournament. At the end of 18 holes, the top 4 golfers with the lowest scores make their way to that week’s tournament. What made Wannasaen’s victory so special was that she became the first female golfer since 2015 as a Monday Qualifier to win the tournament.
In 2015, Brooke Henderson became the second golfer who qualified via Monday Qs to win, and she won the Portland Classic Only. Henderson’s rare victory came 15 years later after the first Monday Qualifier golfer win. It was Laurel Kean, who claimed the State Farm Classic in 2000 and created history.
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Tune in to find out what future endeavours Wannasaen’s go on next, and what her future golf journey looks like after this rare victory.
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