A Saturday duel at the Dana Open turned into the Chanette Wannasaen show.
The 20-year-old Thai and defending champion Linn Grant were tied at 12 under par when they stepped to the tee at the par-4 ninth hole at Highland Meadows. By the time they signed their scorecards a little more than two hours later, Wannasaen led Grant by five, and she was three shots clear of second-place Haeran Ryu.
“I think today was really good,” said Wannasaen, who shot a 5-under-par 66.
She had four birdies during a six-hole stretch (9-14), providing a final-round cushion that could yield her second LPGA Tour victory. Wannasaen’s first win came last year at the Portland Classic, where she won as a Monday qualifier.
On Saturday, she only missed two fairways and had seven one-putts.
“I don’t want to get stressed for tomorrow,” Wannasaen said. “I’m just going to stay in the present time [and] not think about the future.”
Wannasaen is 16 under, Ryu (65) is 13 under after closing her round with back-to-back birdies, and Grant (70), Xiyu Lin (70), and Ssu-Chia Cheng (66) are 11 under.
Toledo-born Stacy Lewis (67) is part of a three-way tie for ninth at 9 under.
There were 34 rounds in the 60s and only 22 rounds over par. The average score was almost a full stroke under par.
“I think you always see good scores here on Saturday because the stress is gone of making the cut and people can free it up,” Lewis said. “As long as you get the ball in the fairway and have a reasonably short club in your hand, you can make a birdie.”
Hyo Joon Jang and Malia Nam had the rounds of the day with matching 7 under 64s, with seven birdies and zero bogeys. Jang is 10 under (T6) and Nam is 8 under (T12).
All was well for Grant early in the round, as she birdied two of her first three holes to take the lead. She bogeyed the par-4 fifth but birdied the par-5 seventh. Then she played the next nine holes in 2 over, finally getting a birdie on the par-5 18th.
Grant hit every green in regulation on holes 12 through 17 but failed to make a single birdie putt.
“Didn’t really get too close to the pins, didn’t hit any good putts,” she said. “I just accepted it was one of those days and just thought to myself, ‘If I could get under par today, that would be pretty solid.’”
The ninth hole had its traditional Saturday forward tee, allowing players the opportunity to drive the green. It played as the third-easiest hole, although there were three double-bogeys. But most players feasted, as two eagles and 28 birdies were carded. One of the four bogeys was Grant.
“The greens are still soft,” Grant said, “so you can be aggressive and get rewarded with hitting good shots. I’m just going to try to go out and have that mindset and hope to see some more putts roll in.”
Wannasaen’s 16-under 197 total is the lowest 54-hole score of her career. And it happened on a course she shot 71-73 to miss the cut in her only previous appearance. It was the seventh of eight consecutive missed cuts for Wannasaen, who then lost in a playoff on the Epson Tour and won in Portland.
Before her victory, Wannasaen had barely $50,000 in career LPGA earnings. In the past 27 events, she had one win, two other top 10s, and only five missed cuts. She’s now ranked No. 43 in the world rankings and had more than $800,000 in earnings.
Wannasaen turned professional in 2021 and won six tournaments while splitting time on the Thai LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour Access Series. She earned her LPGA Tour card by finishing sixth at Q school in 2023.
“Last year, I played in this tournament, but I didn’t do good,” she said. “But this year is quite good. I didn’t expect to play like this because I flew from France, and I think my body is a little bit tired.”
Wannasaen’s round Saturday created time for extra rest. She in the final group Sunday.
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