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S. Korea’s Ahn Sun-ju wins first LPGA event at Japan Classic

November 9, 2015

Sun-ju Ahn of South Korea smiles with a trophy after winning the Toto Japan Classic, her first LPGA Tour victory, in Shima, central Japan. Ahn won the 20th Japan LPGA title, beating fellow South Korean player Ji-Hee Lee and American Angela Stanford with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff. (Naoya Osato/Kyodo News via AP)

By Brian Han

With so many talented youngsters blazing towards their first win on the PGA and LPGA Tours, it can be refreshing to see a winner who’s taken a longer path to the same destination.

28-year-old Ahn Sun-ju has been a force on other Asian tours, including 20 professional wins in Japan, but on Sunday, she got her first LPGA victory at the TOTO Japan Classic.

Ahn, along with fellow South Korean Lee Ji-hee and American Angela Stanford, stayed neck and neck during regulation. All three players had shot in the mid-60s for each of the rounds and forced a playoff.

The trio reached the green in regulation on the par-4 18th, but Ahn’s 165-yard six-iron landed short of the pin and rolled out to about five feet from the hole.

Lee had a 50-footer and Stanford had a 33-footer. The latter made a good effort, but a miss meant that the tournament was over after the first playoff hole.

“I’m very happy,” Ahn told reporters after the round. “I didn’t think that I’d be able to win the tournament, but it’s a nice surprise. I’m very happy.”

She went from 29th to 22nd in the world rankings after the win and now has the option to compete on the LPGA Tour for a full season next year.