Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura earned her third career LPGA Tour title in dramatic fashion at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, making an eagle on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff against American Luci Li at Pinnacle Country Club.

Suwannapura and Li shot stunning rounds of 61 and 60, respectively, on Sunday to soar up the leaderboard and finish in a tie for first on 17-under-par after 54 holes. After two exciting playoff holes, it was the 31-year-old Suwannapura who emerged triumphant over her 21-year-old rival.

Teeing off in the ninth-to-last group and beginning her day in a tie for 25th, Li chalked up three eagles and seven birdies against two early bogeys to sign in a career low 11-under-par 60 and break the 18-hole tournament scoring record.

In the group behind Li, Suwannapura opened her final round with two birdies in the first two holes. She picked up one more birdie on the front nine at the par-three 6th hole to turn at 10-under-par overall, in a tie with Li.

Suwannapura caught fire on the back nine with five more birdies on holes 10, 11, 13, 14 and 16 and, after watching Li make eagle on 18, knew she would need to respond to force extra holes. The Thai player found the green in two and made her resulting eagle putt to sign in a 10-under-par 61, matching Li’s clubhouse lead of 17-under-par.

After the final groups completed play with no one else matching their final scores, Li and Suwannapura headed to the 18th tee for the playoff. On the first extra hole, both players reached the green in two shots and narrowly missed their eagle putts to settle for matching birdies.

On the second playoff hole, also at the 18th, Li pulled her drive to the left rough while Suwannapura found the centre of the fairway. After Li’s second shot found the fringe, more than 50 feet from the pin, Suwannapura nailed her approach to 15 feet of the flag. After Li’s third shot wound up short, Suwannapura sank her right-to-left eagle putt to claim her first LPGA Tour victory in five years.

“This week, I think my mindset was pretty solid. My mental was really good this week. Literally it was hole by hole, shot by shot, and it actually filtered a lot of good and bad things out of my mind,” said Suwannapura, who had her husband Michael Thomas on the bag.

“I don't think we have expectations today at all. Literally, just try to climb the leaderboard. When I had a chance, I tried to make birdie; literally just never look back,” she added.

The victory was Suwannapura’s first on the LPGA Tour since the 2019 Dow Championship, which she won with partner Cydney Clanton. This was her second playoff success following the 2018 Dana Open when she defeated Brittany Lincicome after one extra hole.

The US$450,000 winner’s cheque took Suwannapura past the US$4 million mark in career earnings with US$4,054,098. In 2016, she suffered a career-threatening spine injury that necessitated a swing change to relieve the pressure on her back.

While the final result was disappointing for Li, the two-time Epson Tour winner and former child prodigy was happy to be in contention for her first LPGA Tour title.

“It's great to be in contention. Jasmine played so great. She eagled 18 and eagled it again in the playoff. I feel like I really couldn't have done much more,” said Li, who became the youngest ever qualifier for the U.S. Women's Amateur and the U.S. Women's Open at age 11 in 2014.

Suwannapura is the fifth player from Thailand to win on the LPGA Tour this year, joining Moriya Jutanugarn (Portland Classic), Patty Tavatanakit (Honda LPGA Thailand), Jeeno Thitikul (Dow Championship) and Chanettee Wannasaen (Dana Open). She joins Thitikul (3), Moriya (3) and Ariya (12) as players from Thailand to have at least three career LPGA Tour titles.

Finishing one shot behind Li and Suwannapura, Korean Sei Young Kim claimed solo third place on 16-under-par after making a left-to-right 20-footer for eagle on the 18th and a closing 63. Rookie Mao Saigo of Japan (65) and Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol (66) tied for fourth on 14-under-par, one shot ahead of 36-hole leader Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa who closed with a 69.

Following a one-week break, the LPGA Tour will embark on a four-event Asian swing which includes the Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club from October 24-27.

Tom Kim of Korea admitted he ran out of gas after a pulsating Saturday at the Presidents Cup saw the U.S. Team edge 11-7 ahead of the International Team at Royal Montreal.

But he insists he and his teammates have not run out of fight.

The 22-year-old Tom partnered countryman Si Woo Kim twice on a marathon third day at Royal Montreal, delivering his team’s only point in the morning Four-ball session with a 4 & 3 win over Keegan Bradley/Wyndham Clark as the defending champions won the other three matches through Scottie Scheffler/Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau/Xander Schauffle and Patrick Cantlay/Sam Burns.

Later in the afternoon’s Foursomes session, and with the U.S. having already won two of the three alternate-shot matches, the Korean duo fought bravely against Schauffele and Cantlay before losing 1-up after Cantlay drained a 17-foot birdie putt in near darkness to conclude a feisty match. The Korean duo were down, but were not knocked out cold.

“I do believe in this team. We've got the crowd. It is a different situation. I believe in my teammates,” said Tom. “I'm very tired right now, but I am not going to lie, I am so motivated to go out tomorrow and post a number because I feel like, because we've lost so many times, there's going to be one day where it's just going to be our day. I believe it's tomorrow.”

The U.S. Team needs 4.5 points from the 12 Singles matches on Sunday to win the Presidents Cup for a 10th consecutive time but Tom is not prepared to throw in the towel. He will take on Sam Burns in the second Single match while Si Woo will face Keegan Bradley.

Si Woo, who was the team’s leading scorer in Quail Hollow with three points two years ago, stole the show with some gutsy play and wild celebrations. He and Tom saw off Bradley and Clark in the morning in convincing fashion, taking off his cap moments before his winning putt from 17 feet found the bottom of the cup. After holing an unlikely chip-in birdie on 16 in the evening, he ran across he green and in an ode to his favourite NBA basketball player Stephen Curry, he pressed his hands together on the side of his head as if to signal he was putting the other team to sleep. His teammates and home crowds roared in approval.

“That's what we needed,” Si Woo said. “I didn't expect the ball was going to go in, but I was so excited.”

Tom added: “It's been the last many, many years, there's just so many little things that aren't going our way. There's so many lip-outs. I feel like the opposite team is getting some good kicks. Even in Charlotte, there's so many little things that didn't go our way. I feel all these guys are going to go out there, we're going to try our best. If we fall short, we'll try again. That's what we are. There's going to be one time when we're going to hold the Cup, and it's going to be sometime soon.”

Taylor Pendrith, one of three Canadians in the International Team, also teamed up with Adam Scott twice on Saturday, losing 2 & 1 to Scheffler and Morikawa in the morning before earning the home team’s lone point in Foursomes with a 2-up triumph over Brian Harman/Max Homa.

He knows his team has an uphill battle. “It's a very, very solid U.S. Team, and we've got a big task at hand,” said Pendrith. “But a lot of the matches have gone deep into the holes and have been decided on 18 a lot, so we're right there.”

International Team captain Mike Weir paid tribute to the American juggernaught as the visiting team trailed in several of the afternoon matches before flipping the matches around for outright wins.

“These team competitions, they're emotional roller coasters, no doubt. Hat's off to the U.S. guys. They played great down the stretch. They holed some key putts. They played the 18th hole really well when those matches have been close, and that's why they have the lead right now on some of those pivotal holes,” said Weir.

“But these are 12 awesome players we have on our team. We have tremendous belief in them. They have tremendous belief in themselves. It's the best group of guys I've ever been around. We love them, and we know they're going to come out fighting hard tomorrow.”

Making a record 11th appearance, Aussie veteran Scott, who plays Collin Morikawa in the third to last Singles match, has called on his teammates to stand up and be counted. He has yet to be on a winning team “We’re going to have to be tenacious out there tomorrow and heroic, actually,” said Scott, who has won two points from four matches this week.

“This is a big format tomorrow, 12 matches, 12 points up for grabs, an incredibly strong U.S. Team. Our guys are going to have to throw caution to the wind and play their asses off.”

Sunday's Singles Matches
12:02 p.m. Jason Day vs. Xander Schauffele
12:14 p.m. Tom Kim vs. Sam Burns
12:26 p.m. Hideki Matsuyama vs. Scottie Scheffler
12:38 p.m. Sungjae Im vs. Russell Henley
12:50 p.m. Taylor Pendrith vs. Patrick Cantlay
1:02 p.m. Si Woo Kim vs. Keegan Bradley
1:19 p.m. Corey Conners vs. Tony Finau
1:31 p.m. Min Woo Lee vs. Wyndham Clark
1:43 p.m. Ben An vs. Sahith Theegala
1:55 p.m. Adam Scott vs. Collin Morikawa
2:07 p.m. Christiaan Bezuidenhout vs. Brian Harman
2:19 p.m. Mackenzie Hughes vs. Max Homa

Overall Score: United States 11, International 7
R1 (Four-ball): United States 5, International 0
R2 (Foursomes): International 5, United States 0
R3 (Four-ball): United States 3, International 1
R4 (Foursomes): United States 3, International 1

The U.S. Team won the Presidents Cup for a 10th consecutive time on Sunday after dominating the Singles session for an 18.5 – 11.5 triumph over the International Team at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

The powerful Americans, led by captain Jim Furyk, won 7.5 points from out of 12 to maintain their stranglehold in the biennial team competition. Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Keegan Bradley won their matches, with Bradley, in only his second appearance in the Presidents Cup, delivering the point for the assailable lead following a 1-up victory over Si Woo Kim.

“Geez. Wow, that was incredible,” said an emotional Bradley. “I was saying all week I didn't know if I'd ever get to do this again. To just play in this tournament and then to win the point, my goodness … If this is my last round as a player, maybe it is, I'm happy with that.”

The International Team entered the final day trailing by four points and fought gallantly for much of the session. Xander Schauffele, winner of two majors this season, put the first point on the board for the U.S. with a convincing 4 & 3 win over Jason Day before the International Team fought back momentarily with Korean star Tom Kim overcoming a 2-down deficit to tie his match with Sam Burns.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama then stunned World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler with a 1-up victory in the third match but there was to be no denying the Americans as Russell Henley posted a 3 & 2 win over Sungjae Im and Patrick Cantlay trounced Taylor Pendrith 3 & 1 to set Bradley up for the winning point which was secured after Si Woo Kim missed an eight-foot birdie attempt on the 18th green to force a tie.

“It was an honour (to play the first match),” said Schauffele, who won four points this week alongside Morikawa and Cantlay. “Cap (Furyk) came up to me and asked if I'd be cool going out first. You look down this row of guys, and it could be any one of us that's going to lead the charge. I took it as a special opportunity to do something great. I wanted to get some red up on the board early for the boys to look at.”

Furyk was jubilant his 12 men were able to maintain a firm domination in the Presidents Cup. “I don't know if I could put my finger on it. I go back to just this week, Thursday, that 5-0 (where U.S. won the Four-ball session), that was five tight matches. Friday was not that same tale of the tape (International Team won the Foursomes 5-0). But really the matches come down to just some special moments. For one reason or another, these guys usually play loose in the Presidents Cup, and we've been able to win some crucial points, make some crucial putts.”

One of the few bright sparks for the International Team was Matsuyama’s win over Scheffler, where the 10-time PGA TOUR winner produced some key moments to scalp the most dominant player of 2024. The Japanese star seized a 1-up lead with a stunning approach to five feet on the par-3 17th hole and then hung on for the win with a three-foot par putt at the last hole.
“The last putt right there, I was super nervous. My hands were shaking a lot. I'm really happy I was able to win this match,” said

Matsuyama, who contributed 2 points for the International Team this week. “This win means a lot. Really happy with the result. I had a few mistakes on the course, but really happy with how I played.”

Korea’s Tom Kim, with 1.5 points all week, stood out once more with some wonderful golf and his fiery spirit. The 22-year-old believes it will be a matter of time before the International Team gets the better of the U.S. Team, which has only lost once in 1998.

“I just think we're hungry. I'm sure the American team feels the same way. But when you lose so many times, I feel like there's always a story where people come back. Winning doesn't last forever. There's going to be times where lip-outs are going to go our way. A few breaks, a few bounces are going to go our way, and that's going to make a difference. We play great and we keep falling short sometimes, but I'm not losing hope,” said Kim.

Overall Score: United States 18 ½, International 11 ½
R1 (Four-ball): United States 5, International 0
R2 (Foursomes): International 5, United States 0
R3 (Four-ball): United States 3, International 1
R4 (Foursomes): United States 3, International 1
R5 (Singles): United States 7 ½, 4 ½

Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im sparked a stunning International Team fightback with a record-tying 7 & 6 rout over Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in the first match of Friday’s Foursomes session before Si Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An put the bow on a 5-0 reversal over the star-studded U.S. Team to leave the Presidents Cup all tied at 5-5 at Royal Montreal, Canada on Friday.

Following the American demolition job in Thursday’s Four-ball session where the title holders won all five matches, Mike Weir’s International Team showed up in full force to put life back into the biennial team competition.

Kim, a captain’s pick, rolled in a pressure-packed 15-foot par putt on the final green of the last match in front of his team and a raucous home crowds as he and An produced a 1-up victory over World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley.

In between, Australian veteran Adam Scott made more history by earning his 22nd point in what is an unprecedented 11th International Team appearance as he and Taylor Pendrith trounced Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa 5 & 4 in the second match of the day.

Canadian stars Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes also enjoyed a 6 & 5 win over Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau while Jason Day and Christiaan Bezuidenhout edged out Max Homa and Brian Harman 1-up as the International Team brilliantly bounced back from Thursday’s setback as they chase only a second Presidents Cup victory.

Matsuyama, a 10-time PGA TOUR winner, and Im dovetailed brilliantly in the alternate-shot format as they closed out Cantlay and Schauffele, who until Friday, was undefeated as a pair in Foursomes at the event. The Asian stars didn’t allow their opponents to win a single hole, missing only two fairways and two greens through 12 holes, and brilliantly made seven straight birdies to close out their match.

“Five losses (on Thursday) wasn't the result we wanted. But we knew we could come back from this,” said Matsuyama, who qualified for his sixth International Team as the top-ranked player. “Sungjae hit a perfect shot on the first hole, so I think that really brought the momentum. So really happy.”

Im, who won three points in his debut at Royal Melbourne in 2019, has been a livewire all week for the International Team where he mimicked the famous Gangnam dance during a practice round, and also outside the team room on Thursday evening to lift his teammates’ spirits.

“Today from the beginning, our vibe was vibing and we were trying to win the match. With Hideki, our teamwork was amazing. When I would hit the shot, he would finish with the putt, so it was a great job,” said Im, a three-time TOUR winner.

Si Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An fought gallantly against Scheffler and Henley in a match which was never more than a 1-up lead before holding on to a win, thanks to a clutch 15-foot par save at the last hole which sparked wild celebrations reminiscent of the scenes at Quail Hollow two years ago when Tom Kim holed a big putt for an International point.

“I saw all four front groups winning points, so I knew I needed to get points and bring it to game on. Yeah, we're game on,” said a jubilant Kim, who is one of six captain’s picks. “It was a tough second shot, so I told him, just get me inside 15 feet, and I knew I had a chance to win the putt.”

An added: “We played great today. Well, Si Woo played great. You saw on the last hole, that's what he was doing all day. Clutch. We scrambled. It was tough fighting with Scottie and Russell, such good players. We knew it was going to be tough, and it all came down to the last hole, and Si Woo made a great putt to win, and it was a great match.”

After a crushing opening day, An said the team’s spirit was still high and credited Weir and his assistants. “We left everything in the cabin. We were on the bus, had the most fun so far. I think today will be fun again, and having dinner back in the hotel, it was amazing, almost like we were having a party, like a Sunday night party. Just kept it loose. Like I said, we know we played good golf. Just very unlucky yesterday. We lost on the 18th hole four of the matches, and it came very close. Like I said, I don't think it could be better than yesterday, but I know we'll have fun tonight again,” said An.

Weir was proud with how his men fought back after the opening session shutout. “We're all in this together. We all had a great belief. I was just so proud of the guys, how they fought, as I told you guys that yesterday. The guys fought. That message was loud and clear to the guys,” said the Canadian.

Saturday Morning Fourball Pairings
𝟕:𝟎𝟐 𝐚.𝐦. Scottie Scheffler/Collin Morikawa vs. Adam Scott/Taylor Pendrith
𝟕:𝟐𝟎 𝐚.𝐦. Tony Finau/Xander Schauffele vs. Corey Conners/Mackenzie Hughes
𝟕:𝟑𝟖 𝐚.𝐦. Keegan Bradley/Wyndham Clark vs. Si Woo Kim/Tom Kim
𝟕:𝟓𝟔 𝐚.𝐦. Patrick Cantlay/Sam Burns vs. Hideki Matsuyama/Sungjae Imlegend.

2024 Presidents Cup: Round Two Results
Overall Score: United States 5, International 5
R1 (Four-ball): United States 5, International 0
R2 (Foursomes): International 5, U.S. 0