Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit broke a winless streak of almost three years by charging to a seven-shot wire-to-wire victory in this week's Aramco Saudi Ladies International on the Ladies European Tour.
Tavatanakit's last win arrived at the 2021 ANA Inspiration Championship (now the Chevron Championship), but despite almost three years of largely excellent golf, her trophy cabinet was not added to.
Not only is that stretch of failing to lift a trophy over thanks to a final-round 65, but Tavatanakit also landed $750,000 as a result of her success at the event with the largest purse on the LET this season. The $5 million total payout also matches that of the men's equivalent on the DP World Tour.
Speaking about her 18-under victory immediately after celebrating with friends on the 18th green, Tavatanakit said: "It's been a long time since I've played this good, but it's very emotional - I'm very emotional right now at how I overcame that.
"Looking back, it was just one day at a time. Keep working hard. I worked really hard to get here to play this solid all week. I just want to thank my team, the coaches and the trainers back home - I really appreciate them. Thanks to Jason for sticking around this long.
"I'm so grateful for the people I have around me in my life. Without them, I wouldn't be here today. I'm soaking it all in right now. It's incredible just being here in Saudi and I was able to do that. It's just unreal."
Patty T is back! 🇹🇭Just look what it means to Patty Tavatanakit who returns to the winner’s circle in style at Riyadh Golf Club 🏆#RaiseOurGame | #GolfAndMore pic.twitter.com/ur21yJ9lMXFebruary 18, 2024
The 24-year-old possessed a three-stroke advantage heading into Sunday's action at Riyadh Golf Club, and she wasted little time in extending the gap between her and the field with a birdie on the first.
Five further birdies - as well as an eagle - highlighted what a stunning performance Tavatanakit produced, with the Thai talent missing only eight GIR all week and hitting every single one on Sunday - ending a run that began on the eighth hole on Saturday.
She continued: “I came to play. It was a little bit more relaxing today, but I knew I still had to face myself out there. I just told myself to keep pedalling. Just try to make as many birdies as I can out there, and it worked out great today.
“If anything, I feel like I’ve grown so much over the past couple of years just as a person off and on the course as well. I’m just going to continue to grow and learn and that’s all you can do in life.”
Left trailing in her wake were the likes of Germany's Esther Henseleit and England's Charley Hull - who finished lone second and T3, respectively. Hull experienced a strange week after struggling out of the gate on Thursday before carding a scintillating 67 on Friday.
The Solheim Cup star's brilliant form continued on Saturday, too, courtesy of a 68 - managed despite a lack of sleep due to her hotel room flooding in the middle of the night. But a closing 70 left a nine-shot gap to the eventual winner, who celebrated her fifth professional success.
