England’s Annabell Fuller made a late flurry of birdies to finish third at the Saudi Ladies International – her best finish on the Ladies European Tour.

However, the 22-year-old was unable to challenge Thai playing partner Atthaya ‘Jeeno’ Thitikul for the title, finishing five shots behind her winning total of 16 under.

Thitikul closed the 54-hole tournament at Riyadh Golf Club with a three-under-par round of 69, while South Korea’s Lee So-mi shot 70 to finish second on 12 under.

Fuller followed rounds of 66 and 68 with a battling 71 on Saturday – bouncing back from three dropped shots on the front nine to fire three birdies in her closing four holes and move one shot clear of a four-strong group on 10 under.

“It feels unreal, I don’t know how to react right now – it’s pretty special,” said Fuller, whose previous-best finish was sixth in this season’s opening tournament – the Lalla Meryem Cup.

“My front nine was a bit up and down and the weather was quite hard.

“I just tried to battle through that, but it was really cool to learn from ‘Jeeno’ and watch her play, so that was special too.”

England’s Charley Hull closed with a 68 to finish in a five-way tie for eighth place on nine under.