The 2024 Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic was a thrilling event, with another new winner hoisting the trophy. Pornanong Phatlum emerged victorious, claiming her first Epson Tour win while breaking the 54-hole scoring record at Wildhorse Golf Course. The competition was fierce, with Fiona Xu entering the mix early in the final round, aiming to become the first two-time champion of the 2024 season. However, the Epson Tour rookie could not keep up with the flurry of birdies Phatlum unleashed during her final round, adding to the excitement of the tournament.

Phatlum entered the day tied with Cynthia Lu for the lead, but by the time the leaders hit their first tee shot, they were already in a four-way tie with Kate Smith-Stroh and Fiona Xu, who started their days 3-under through three holes. Smith-Stroh and Xu would both eagle the par 5 fifth to grab a share of the lead at 16-under.

Phatlum kept pace with the players in front of her, making three birdies in the first four holes, tying the lead by the time she stepped onto the fifth hole tee box. The Thai native would birdie the fifth hole and the seventh hole to grab the lead, and once she had the lead, she never looked back. Another birdie on No. 9 meant Phatlum turned with a 6-under 30, following it up with another birdie on No. 10. Two more birdies fell for the 34-year-old on 13 and 15, which meant she was currently tied with the scoring record of 22-under set by Fiona Xu earlier this season. Unfortunately, a misstep on No. 17 resulted in a bogey for Phatlum, bumping her down to 21-under for the tournament, breaking the 54-hole scoring record for the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic and securing her first career Epson Tour victory..

"Wow. The game felt so good this week. I felt like I have more confidence about my game this week," explained Phatlum. "I feel like I just want to play happy golf and enjoy golf. Because I have played on Tour for 16 years already, and this year, I feel like I put too much pressure on myself sometimes. I just want to go back to the LPGA and enjoy playing on the LPGA again like that."

Amy Lee was on the hunt for Phatlum after an eagle putt fell on No. 5 and kickstarted the 27-year-old's round. Lee rolled in four straight birdies from holes 8-11, cutting the lead to just one shot. A bogey on No. 15 took the air out of the round for the Baylor University grad, but a birdie on No. 17 put Lee back into solo second to end the tournament. Lee's finish at the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic is her best career finish on the Epson Tour and jumped her over 30 spots in the Race for the Card.

"The game is feeling really solid. Everything's kind of coming together," said Lee. "I mean, I went pretty low, but it was just a little bit short. But I'm very happy with the way I played and, I'm excited for the next five events."

The Epson Tour has a week off before returning to action at the Four Winds Invitational in South Bend, Indiana. The tournament will take place from August 30-September 1, with a $262,500 purse and 500 Race for the Card points on the line.

QUICK QUOTES

Kate Smith-Stroh (-17, 4th) on sleeping on the lead in round one and how her game is feeling:

“It feels good. I mean, this course is fun because it's scorable, but you know the finishing stretch is demanding. So as far as, like a tournament course goes it's great. Proud of myself this week. You know, it's not easy sleeping with the lead after day one, and I tried to kind of ride it out and just keep playing good golf and keep to my process. So, yeah, I'm really happy and excited to get to South Bend and do it again.”

Riley Smyth (-15, T5) on how her goals for the season have changed:

“I think it's right now it's to move into top 35 to get into the Final Qualifying for Q-series. I think that's a big goal, just to be able to bypass Qualifying and just get closer to getting my LPGA card.”

Miranda Wang (-11, T24) on how the confidence in her game has changed throughout the season:

“My game is definitely a lot better than the beginning of the year. I feel like I'm just finding the tempo better, like the right tempo for me. Also, I worked on a few things with my coach in the past few weeks. I think it has been working, which is good.”

IN THE WINNERS CIRCLE WITH PORNANONG PHATLUM

Hometown/Resides: Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Age: 34

Qualified for the Epson/LPGA Tour: Finished T34 at 2008 LPGA Q-Series to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2009 season

Rookie Year: 2009

CATEGORY
2024 Race for the Card Rank	7
2024 Race for the Card Points	866.000
2024 Epson Tour Wins	1
2024 Epson Tour Top 10s	3
2024 Season Earnings	$69,994
LPGA Tour Top 10s	30
LPGA Tour Career Earnings	$4,965,444
Career Epson Tour Wins	1
Career Epson Tour Top 10s	11
Epson Tour Career Earnings	$126,236

OF NOTE

The Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic is her first Epson Tour victory
- Her best previous result on the Epson Tour was a T2 finish at the 2024 Casino Del Sol Golf Classic
The win moves her to No. 7 in the 2024 Race for the Card
She has spent most of her 15-year career on the LPGA Tour
The 34-year-old has 30 career top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour
- She finished runner-up at the 2018 AIG Women’s British Open
Phatlum represented Thailand in the 2016 Rio Olympics
She also represented Thailand in the 2014, 2016, and 2018 International Crown
This is her sixth Epson Tour event of the season
- She has made five cuts and has two top-10 finishes

Phatlum Secures First Epson Tour Victory After Breaking the 54-Hole Tournament Scoring Record

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