Ariya credits past lessons after Open victory
Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn credited the lessons learned from her experiences over the past year as a key factor in helping her to Sunday's historic title at the Women's British Open.
Ariya became the first player from Thailand - male or female - to win a major title after finishing three strokes clear of South Korea's Lee Mirim and American Mo Martin at Woburn.
But there were plenty of bumps along the way for the 20-year-old, who in her rookie 2015 season on the LPGA Tour missed ten successive cuts after suffering a shoulder injury.
This year, she led the first major - the ANA Inspiration - by two shots with three holes to play, but ended up fourth.
But overcoming adversity helped her win Sunday's Open title and become the first golfer from her country to win a major.
The turnaround for the powerful youngster came when she won three tournaments in a row on the LPGA Tour in May.
"The low points taught me to be patient," she said after her closing 72 for a three-shot victory on 16 under par. "I knew when I missed all the cuts that I was only 19 and I had plenty of time."
The shoulder injury came about when she was larking about with her older sister, Moriya, with a water bottle. Moriya also made the cut, but finished 16 shots behind Ariya and in a tie for 43rd at Woburn.
"Today I was very nervous, especially after the double-bogey at the 13th," said Ariya, who had led by two after 54 holes and by six with 12 to play.
"But the mistake made me mad and that helped. My caddie also talked to me and told me to slow down."
She is now looking forward to celebrating back home. "I hope Moriya and I will both inspire other Thai girls to play golf," she added.