Leona Maguire tied for 26th as South Korea’s Amy Yang finally claimed her first major with victory in the KPMG Women’s PGA at Sahalee Country Club in Washington.
The Co Cavan star went into the weekend in the Pacific Northwest tied for sixth but followed a third-round 75 with a closing 76 to finish 11 strokes behind the winner on four-over.
It was a frustrating weekend for the Ballyconnell star, who was ranked 51st in strokes gained putting at the Washington venue.
But it was a joyous occasion for Yang, who finally won a major after racking up 21 top tens, 11 top fives and two runner-ups in 75 major appearances since she made her debut in 2006.
“You know, at one point, I thought, will I ever win a major championship before I retire? And I finally did it, and it’s just amazing,” said Yang, who at 34 is the oldest women’s major winner since 2018.
Leading by two strokes overnight Yang opened up a seven-stroke lead at one point en route to a level par 72 and a three-stroke win over compatriot Jin Young Ko and Lilia Vu, last year’s two-time major champion.
“I thought about this out on the golf course today, that golf is really just like a fight against myself,” Yang said. “I think I proved to myself that I can compete and I can do this, yeah, so was a good learning week.”
She added: “It’s been incredible all this week. Everyone was rooting for me. I want to go sign some autographs for them. Like to thank them for all the support, and that gave me a lot of good positive vibes out there.”
Yang won $1,560,000 while Maguire claimed prize money of $91,079 for her week’s work.
