Tseng marches on

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World No 1 Yani Tseng claimed her sixth LPGA Tour victory of the season at the Hana Bank Championship on Sunday.

Unstoppable World No 1 Yani Tseng claimed her sixth LPGA Tour victory of the season at the Hana Bank Championship on Sunday, edging out Na Yeon Choi by a stroke.

It’s also her 10th overall title of the year, adding to her major victories at the the LPGA Championship and Women’s British Open, underlining her status as the world’s best female golfer by some margin.

The 22-year-old from Taiwan’s final-round five-under-par 67 to finish on 14 under par for the tournament at Sky 72 Golf Club’s Ocean Course was good enough to to give her the title over Korean Na Yeon Choi, who fought manfully, carding a final-round 68, but came up just short.

“It was very tough out there,” Tseng said.

“Na Yeon Choi was playing so good today. She made two birdies in a row and I missed the birdie putt. I really enjoyed it out there. It’s not easy. I tried to focus on every shot, every hole.”

Tseng earns $270,000, pushing her overall total to $2,396,838.

Choi, a two-time winner at this event in 2009 and 2010, finished with a birdie in front of a hugely supportive home crowd on Sunday, but it was still not quite enough.

“The crowd is amazing,” Tseng said. “When Na Yeon makes birdie, it was like a huge crowd, and I think it’s the first time in my life I saw that many people on a golf course.”

The way it all finished up is an exact reverse of how things ended in 2009, when it was Choi who beat Tseng by a single shot.

“I didn’t think anything like two years ago,” Tseng said. “I kind of forgot and learned from that. She played great and I played good. I did my best then, and I feel like she just played better than me and she deserved to win the tournament.

“Two years after, we both have got some more experience and we both got more wins. It’s very different out there.”

Brittany Lincicome (66), Jamin Jang (68) and second-round leader Soo-Jin Yang (71) tied for third on 11 under.

Michelle Wie had a 69 to tie for 35th on one under.

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