As the Honda LPGA Thailand celebrates its 15th year, golf in Thailand has never been so robust. Last year Ariya Jutanugarn became the first Thai player to win the event, fitting given that she was the first Thai to win on the LPGA and rise to No. 1.
Incredibly, Thai players finished 1-2-3 last year with LPGA rookie Atthaya Thitikul placing second and last year’s Chevron winner, Patty Tavatanakit coming in third.
This marks the 10th time the Honda Thailand will be contested on the Pattaya Old Course at Siam Country Club.
A total of 10 players from Thailand are in the field: Jaravee Boonchant (Bangkok), Ariya Jutanugarn (Bangkok), Moriya Jutanugarn (Bangkok), Wichanee Meechai (Bangkok), Jasmine Suwannapura (Bangkok), Rina Tatematsu (Bangkok), Patty Tavatanakit (Bangkok), Prima Thammaraks (Bangkok), Atthaya Thitikul (Ratchaburi) and Chanettee Wannasaen (Chiang Mai).
Here’s a closer look at some of the host nation’s best:
1
Ariya Jutanugarn
Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand celebrates on the eighteenth green during the Third Round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on March 05, 2022 in Singapore. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
It had been 1,015 days since Ariya Jutanugarn’s last LPGA victory when she broke through in Thailand in 2021, winning the one tournament she wanted the most. She dropped to the ground in a heap of sobs.
“Before I won this tournament last year, I’m always like told myself like the only tournament I really want to win and I haven’t win yet is LPGA in Thailand,” said Ariya on Tuesday in Thailand. “You know, didn’t want to say this to other people, but one of my biggest dreams was to win in my home country, and I done it last year and it just feels great.”
Ariya has won a dozen times on the LPGA, including two majors. She was the 2016 and 2018 LPGA Player of the Year. She is currently ranked 30th in the world.
2
Moriya Jutanugarn
Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand plays her shot from the second tee during a pro-am tournament prior to the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on March 02, 2022 in Singapore. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
The 2013 LPGA Rookie of the Year, Moriya collected her second LPGA title last year when she won the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational last summer with her sister and partner, Ariya.
A hard-working, meticulous perfectionist, the petite Moriya plays a more controlled game compared to her little sister. Moriya, who is currently No. 40 in the world, takes great comfort in the the number of Thai players on tour week-to-week.
“I feel like we going up, and like even my time like my first year on tour is only like maybe a few of us on tour,” said Moriya, “and like now it feels like everywhere you walk, you know, like on the golf course you probably with speak Thai with someone, which is such a good feeling.”
3
Patty Tavatanakit
Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand plays her shot from the third tee during the final round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on March 06, 2022 in Singapore. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
A long-bombing, show-stopping kind of player, Patty Tavatankit, 22, wowed the world when she won last year’s Chevron Championship as a rookie.
Tavatanakit’s best finish so far this season is a share of fourth at the LPGA Drive On event in February. She ranks second on tour in both birdies and eagles.
Tavatanakit is currently ranked No. 13 in the world.
4
Atthaya Thitikul
Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand plays her shot from the 16th tee during the final round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on March 06, 2022 in Singapore. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
A four-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, Atthaya Thitikul became the youngest player to ever win a professional event when she triumphed at the Ladies European Thailand Championship at 14 years, 4 months and 19 days in July 2017.
Currently ranked 14th in the world, Thitikul earned her full LPGA card at Q-Series in December and tied for fourth last week at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
5
Jasmine Suwannapura
Jasmine Suwannapura of Thailand tees off on the fourteenth hole during the First Round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on March 03, 2022 in Singapore. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
A two-time winner on the LPGA, 29-year-old Jasmine Suwannapura is in her 11th season on tour. Suwannapura, who has $2,600,822 in career earnings, suffered from a broken back in 2015. Doctors told Suwannapura that if she didn’t have surgery, she might be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
Three years later, Suwannapura clawed back to win her first tournament on the LPGA. She currently ranks 100th in the world.
6
Jaravee Boonchant
Jaravee Boonchant of Thailand plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National Golf Club on April 06, 2019 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Jaravee Boonchant, a Bangkok native with status on the Epson Tour, is competing this week in Thailand on a sponsor exemption. A four-time All-American at Duke, Boonchant’s 71.99 career scoring average is the third-best in Duke history. Boonchant helped lead Duke to the 2019 NCAA Championship.
Last fall, Boonchant won the Juli Inkster Senior Award presented by Workday, recognizing the highest ranked women’s Division I collegiate golfer in her final year of eligibility for the 2020-21 season. Boonchant graduated with a degree in statistics and achieved a career-best World Amateur Golf Ranking of 14th.
