Korean Ji ends eight-year LPGA title drought in Taiwan

(Reuters) - South Korean Ji Eun-hee lifted her first LPGA title in eight years with an emphatic six-stroke victory at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship on Sunday.

Ji, who held a six-stroke overnight lead, cruised through a bogey-free final round of seven-under 65 at the par-72 Miramar Resort and Country Club.

The 31-year-old fired three birdies on the front-nine as she made the turn at 13-under, still six better than second-placed Lydia Ko of New Zealand.

Another birdie for Ji at the 10th hole opened a seven-shot lead over Ko, who got one back with a birdie of her own at the 11th but never threatened the South Korean's title bid in the rest of the round.

Ji calmly tapped a three-foot par putt on the 18th to capture her third LPGA title and her first since her U.S. Women's Open triumph in July 2009.

"I'm so happy and excited because I haven't won for the past eight years," said Ji, who finished with a 17-under 271. "So I was waiting for this moment for so long, so I'm super happy right now."

"It is a nice day for playing golf today, and I have a really good group with Lydia and Jenny (Shin), so I was more relaxed with them and enjoyed playing with them."

Ko took the runner-up spot with a spotless seven-under 65 to finish with 11-under 277.

Ji became the 11th different South Korean to lift an LPGA title this season, joining Jang Ha-na, Amy Yang, Park In-bee, Lee Mi-rim, Ryu So-yeon, Kim Sei-young, Kim In-kyung, Park Sung-hyun, Lee Mi-hyang and Ko Jin-young.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)