Women's British Open: Ariya Jutanugarn becomes Thailand's first major winner

Ariya Jutanugarn became Thailand's first major champion after holding off the challenge of Mirim Lee to win the British Open by three shots at Woburn.

The 20-year-old had a two-stroke lead over South Korea's Lee going into the final day and started strongly to lead by five shots after nine holes.

A double-bogey at the 13th threatened Jutanugarn's chances as her rival closed to within one shot.

But a birdie at 17 and an untroubled par at the last secured the title.

Jutanugarn was embraced by her mother Narumon after completing victory, in emotional scenes on the final green.

"My mother cried at the end," the champion said. "She said 'thank you', and that made my day.

"For me it was hard today. I felt a little bit nervous at times. I think this victory is really important for me and Thai golf. I hope I can inspire some players in Thailand."

Jutanugarn held her nerve in the closing stretch, avoiding a repeat of her disappointment at the the ANA Inspiration earlier this season, when she missed out on the title after bogeying her final three holes.

Birdies at the second and sixth holes put her in control, especially as Lee - who had led for the first two days - has three bogeys on the front nine.

The Thai then steadied herself well after taking six shots at the 13th, responding with three straight pars to maintain her slender lead over playing partner Lee.

It was a disappointing day for Scotland's Catriona Matthew, who was unable to make up the ground she lost on Saturday, finishing as the leading Briton in joint-fifth, seven shots off the pace.

Matthew, who started the day six behind Jutanugarn, started well with birdies at the 2nd and 4th, but inconsistency dogged her round thereafter. She ended the day with a one-over-par round of 73, which included five bogeys as well as four birdies.

"I had a couple of slack shots on the two par threes on the front nine and it was a bit of a struggle from there," Matthew said. "It was not too bad a day, but I'm disappointed."

England's Charley Hull responded well to Saturday's round of 75, and was seven under for the day after 12 holes, before dropping four shots to finish on five under par for the tournament, 11 strokes adrift of the winner.

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