Five back, then a 64
Ana Pelaez began Sunday’s final round of the Aramco China Championship in 10th place, five shots off the lead. She finished it as champion. The Spaniard shot a nine-under 64 at Mission Hills in Shenzhen, finishing on 20 under for her second Ladies European Tour title and her first since the 2022 Madrid Ladies Open, a gap of four years.
The round had seven birdies and a hole-in-one at the par-three 13th. She then birdied the last three holes in a row, which put the result beyond anyone chasing.
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English challengers fall away
The leaderboard looked very different 24 hours earlier. Charlotte Heath and Pelaez’s compatriot Luna Sobron shared the lead on 16 under after round three, with Mimi Rhodes one back and Annabell Fuller three adrift. Neither leader could move. Heath and Sobron both carded even-par 73s and slipped into a share of third on 16 under, level with China’s Zhou Shiyuan, Liu Ruixin and Zeng Liqi.
Rhodes was the best of the English players. The 24-year-old, who won three times on tour in 2025 and made her Solheim Cup debut in September when Europe beat the USA in the Netherlands, signed for a clean two-under 71 and finished outright second on 17 under, three shots behind. Fuller opened with four birdies in her first six holes to reach 16 under, but three back-nine bogeys left her on 14 under in ninth. Alice Hewson was 20th on 11 under.
Pelaez described it as the most enjoyable round she has ever played, and said she had once doubted she would get back into a winning position.
Sakuma breaks through on the LPGA
In Japan, Shuri Sakuma won her first LPGA Tour title at the Toto Japan Classic. She closed with an eight-under 64 to finish on 20 under, four clear of 54-hole leader Akie Iwai, who shot 71. Sakuma had already won eight times on the LPGA of Japan Tour.
The Ladies European Tour now takes a two-week break before the season finale, the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana, from November 26 to 29. The LPGA Tour heads back to the United States for The Annika in Florida.
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