Kang received her trophy from His Royal Highness Paduka Seri Sultan Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah at a closing ceremony yesterday.

A massive crowd witnessed Kang calmly roll in a 12-foot downhill putt on the final hole to shoot 6-under-par 65 to finish just one shot ahead of LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, who carded a bogey on the final hole to drop out of a tie for the lead.

Kang’s blistering final round left her with a nine-under 204 total and her second LPGA victory, following a Rolex First-Time win at the 2005 LPGA Corning Classic. The 30-year-old’s first place finish meant she took home prize money of US$270,000, vaulting her to 20th on the 2010 LPGA Official Money List.

Meanwhile, second runner-up Inkster received her garland from Tun Musa Hitam, Chairman of Sime Darby Berhad. Inkster’s second-place finish was her best of the season.

First-round leader Mike Miyazato of Japan and Maria Hjorth of Sweden shared third at six-under 207, with Meena Lee alone in fifth another shot back.

American Cristie Kerr could take over the top position in the Rolex Rankings as a result of her superb final round. The current world No.2 (as at 18 October 2010) began the final round tied for 29th and, teeing off on the 10th hole, registered four birdies in her first six holes of the day. Although she added a bogey at 18 (her ninth hole) birdies at three and five saw her finish at five-under-par 66 and in eighth position.

Jiyai Shin, who finished tied for sixth with Christina Kim, is projected to take the No. 2 spot in the Rolex Rankings, while Ai Miyazato, who could only finish tied for 28th, could fall to No. 3.

Doing the home country proud, amateur Kelly Tan tied for 32nd at 3-over-par 216 to come out as the best Malaysian performer of the tournament.

Kelly Tan received her trophy and garland from Dato' Mohd Bakke Salleh, Acting President and Group Chief Executive of Sime Darby Berhad. When asked about her week, the 16-year-old amateur said, The first day I was really nervous. You know, my heartbeat was really fast, but today I think I handled it pretty well.

Of course, it's a little bit of advantage for us to play on our home course. And the weather, we are used to it but I’m really happy with the way I played all week and I am thrilled with my finish, she added.

The Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, which took place from 22-24 October, featured a world-class field including the top nine players on the Rolex Rankings who vied for the prize purse of US$1.8 million. The three-day stroke play event with no cut meant that the tournament players were in Kuala Lumpur for the tournament duration and the local and regional golf community were able to catch their favourite golfers in action till the end of the tournament.