Ariya Jutanugarn Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

With two events remaining, top players vie for entry into LPGA’s Tour Championship

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 06:44:10 +0000

By Keely Levins
There’s a lot on the line this week at the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic, set for November 3-6 at Seta Golf Course in Shiga. Only two opportunities remain for players to earn points necessary to play in the CME Group Tour Championship. Players gain entry into the Tour Championship field November 17-20 via a season-long points race, with the top 60 and ties earning a spot at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. The no-cut event has a $7 million purse, the fourth largest on tour, with a $1.5 million first-place prize money payout.

With only two events left before the championship, players on the bubble have a lot to gain, or lose, in Japan.

The Race to the CME Globe is all about points, with winners of LPGA events earning 500 points. A second-place finish is worth 320 points, third gets 230 points, fourth place receives 180 points and on down the line. Majors are weighted 30 per cent more than the rest of the schedule.

As Ariya Jutanugarn found out at the BMW Ladies Championship two weeks ago, a top-10 finish can change everything. Jutanugarn finished in seventh place and moved from 65th place on the points list to 58th. She won the Race to the CME Globe in both 2016 and 2018.

Beyond the former World No. 1, other big names are lingering right around the coveted 60th-place mark. Anna Nordqvist and Stacy Lewis are in 56th and 57th place respectively, though Lewis is not in the field in Japan. Outside the top 60 are more recent Solheim Cup team members Matilda Castren (65) Brittany Altomare (67), Angel Yin (74) and Yealimi Noh (77). Of these players, only Altomare is not in the field in Japan.

A fan favourite, Maria Fassi, is also one top finish away from breaking into the top 60. She sits at 69th on the points list and is competing in Japan this week.

For players a bit farther down the CME points list, the pressure is just as high. The top 100 players on the list will retain their LPGA cards for next year, so if they’re able to stay within the top 100, they can avoid a trip to Q-School. Brittany Lincicome, former World No. 1 Sung Hyun Park, tour-winner Amy Olson and major champ Sophia Popov are all notable players currently outside the top 100. Though none of these players are in the field in Japan, the Pelican Women’s Championship in Florida from November 10-13 will be their last chance to score points before the end of the season.

The post With two events remaining, top players vie for entry into LPGA’s Tour Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

From Leona Maguire to Ariya Jutanugarn: What it’s like to be the first woman from your country to win a title

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 10:48:40 +0000

By Kent Paisley
It was always going to be a big deal personally for Leona Maguire to become the first Irishwoman to win an LPGA Tour event, the 27-year-old accomplishing the feat after four years as a professional at the LPGA Drive On Championship in February. And a big deal for her country, too; in the wake of her win, Maguire — among the players considered a favourite at this week’s AIG Women’s Open — got a social-media shoutout from none other than the country’s president, Michael Higgins.

Still, it was only recently that the bigger-picture significance of her accomplishment sunk in for Maguire. Last month, a young fan and her mother approached the golfer while she was playing in the JP McManus Pro-Am charity event. The girl shared with Maguire, the lone woman competing among 50 professionals, that she had selected “Leona” as her saint name for her first communion, a tradition of the Catholic church.

“Usually, you pick a Saint, but she picked Leona, which was a little different,” Maguire said, a bit overwhelmed. “I’ve had people send me projects they’ve done or posters. It doesn’t seem that long ago I was doing that on Padraig Harrington or Serena Williams or Annika Sorenstam or whomever it was growing up. It’s a little bit full circle right now.”

Stories of players inspiring a country by becoming its first tour winner are happening more and more of late. In the LPGA’s 73-year history, women from 29 countries have won titles. Three of those countries saw their first winners come in the last two seasons, all from Europe: Ireland’s Maguire, Finland’s Matilda Castren (2021 Mediheal Championship) and Denmark’s Nanna Koertz Madsen (2022 Honda LPGA Thailand).

Nanna Koertz Madsen. Andrew Redington

“It’s definitely trending in the right direction for the European Solheim [Cup],” Koerstz Madsen said at the JTBC Classic in March. “Now there is one and a half years before for the Solheim, so we still have to continue this.”

Go back a decade, and players from six countries have recorded historic maiden wins, including three players who eventually claimed the top spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings: New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (2012), China’s Shanshan Feng (2012) and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn (2015).

Given the talent of all these players, the anticipation for their maiden wins left them feeling anxious, pressure building to fulfill what seemed like their destinies. Maguire’s notable amateur career — three-time NCAA player of the year at Duke, a three-time Curtis Cup participant, 135 weeks at No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking — made it seem inevitable she would give Ireland its long-anticipated first win after finally reaching the LPGA Tour in 2020. Twice she claimed runner-up finishes in 2021, duelling with LPGA stalwarts.

“I suppose at the time you tend not to focus on things like that, putting too much pressure on yourself,” Maguire said. “And obviously I wanted to win first and foremost for myself and for my family. I know I have an incredible amount of support from back home from Ireland, everybody sort of staying up late with the time changes and all that to support me.”

Social media clamoured for her success, as witnessed in the creation of a Leona Maguire Tracker account on Twitter at the start of 2022. (Yes, Maguire is aware of it and appreciates her fan’s passion. No, her twin sister Lisa doesn’t run the tracker, and as of now, she doesn’t know who is behind it.)

“Over the last year or two I’ve been on social media, if I’d been in the lead or near the lead,” Maguire said. “It was people tweeting or whatever saying: ‘Is this going to be the week? Are we finally going to have an Irishwoman win?’ or all those questions. So I guess the nice part now is, that question’s kind of over, which is a nice sort of feeling to have.”

Matilda Castren. Gregory Shamus

Castren became Finland’s first winner in June 2021 at 26 during her second year on tour. Her victory put her in an unusual spot. She was not yet a member of the Ladies European Tour so, despite being an LPGA winner she wasn’t eligible to play on the European Solheim Cup team that coming September. Her only avenue to membership, given LET qualifying school wasn’t until after the Cup’s conclusion, was to win an LET event.

Impressively, in Castren’s first opportunity, she won the Gant Ladies Open in her home country. Her spot on Team Europe was locked in, and she helped the visitors take down the Americans in the United States for the first time since 2013.

“I think last year I was just going with the flow,” Castren said, “and now I kind of look back and I’m like: ‘Wow, how did I, how did I do all that? How did I like survive the whole year?’ Because it was a long year and a lot of these very special events. I think I have a different perspective now. Obviously, last year I thought it was so cool and I was so excited and everyone around me were so excited. Now, it just feels a little bit more special, if it can.”

Despite some fans asking for photos and sharing she’s motivated them, Castren doesn’t feel like a celebrity. “I just hope that I can inspire others,” she said. “It’s always kind of hard to come over to the states to play if you haven’t gone to college or like other connections. Over here, but I hope I can inspire the next generation to want to reach for the stars and try to be playing amongst the best. I’m just trying to find different ways to help the juniors.”

Castren can look to fellow recent first-time winners for advice on how to help grow the game in her country. Ko partnered with New Zealand Golf in 2015 to create a scholarship programme for two teen players to train with her in the US. Feng created a golf academy in 2017 to help more Chinese kids get into golf. Jutanugarn and her older sister Moriya partnered with Habitat for Humanity in 2018 to assist Thai families.

Ariya Jutanugarn

“So many times that I’ve spent time with the kids, they came up to me and said: ‘You’re really inspiring,’” Jutanugarn said at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. “So that just makes my day and makes my life, because I feel like that’s all I want to do.”

So which country could be the 30th to have its first LPGA winner? India’s Aditi Ashok has the potential and has already seen a substantial impact from her play within her homeland. When golf returned to the Olympics in 2016, the then 18-year-old shot back-to-back 68s to sit T-8 through the first 36 holes. Then, in November, she won the LET’s Hero Women’s Indian Open, taking down Brittany Lincicome to become the first Indian player to win a LET event.

“I’m just so happy that it was my first win,” Ashok said, “because I didn’t get to grow up looking at that trophy with an Indian girl’s name on it. I feel like now, anybody who is going to play in that event or who looks at history on the European Tour, they can see an Indian girl has won there. So I think it gives you a little more belief in yourself that it is possible.”

Aditi Ashok. Chris Trotman

At last summer’s Olympics, Ashok finished T-4, a stroke out of a playoff for a medal. Following the inspiring performance, more and more kids have taken pictures alongside the Indian golf star on the driving range at the courses she practises at, the Bangalore Golf Club and Karnataka Golf Association. She’s since claimed an LPGA career-best T-3 at the 2021 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

“Before [the Olympics], I guess they would just look at me as another golfer practising, or maybe they didn’t even know who I was,” Ashok said. “I think the Olympics made that different, and they’d all try and get a picture with me, because I had been at the Olympics and because I had finished fourth. That has definitely done more than my three wins on European tour.”

The inspiration from the first-time winners stretches beyond their homeland. Some players are focused on becoming their country’s first LPGA members, let alone winners. For example, Epson Tour member Pilar Echeverria is working to become the first Guatemalan on tour. Those first-time winners serve as beacons that her dreams are possible.

“Even in central America,” Echeverria said, “we don’t have that many professional golf players. So we support each other a lot. There are some other Central American players on Epson Tour, and we’re always cheering on each other.

“It’s just a lot of excitement and looking forward to working hard, and hopefully make that first come true.”

The post From Leona Maguire to Ariya Jutanugarn: What it’s like to be the first woman from your country to win a title appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn teams up with Solheim Cup hero Catriona Matthew at this week’s Aramco Team Series – Bangkok

Matt Smith — Wed, 11 May 2022 11:08:41 +0000

The Jutanugarn sisters Ariya and Moriya with fellow Thai star Patty Tavatanakit

By Matt Smith
Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn will partner with Solheim Cup icon Catriona Matthew in one of the headline fourballs at this week’s Aramco Team Series – Bangkok.

The hometown hero used her captain’s pick in last night’s pre-tournament draft to recruit the Scot, an 11-time Tour champion and Major-winner and back-to-back winning Team Europe to Solheim Cup captain.

Spanish Ladies European Tour rookie Paz Marfa Sans will complete the professional side of the team, which will be completed with the addition of an amateur golfer, before play gets underway at Thai Country Club on Thursday.

“Playing in my home country is very exciting,” said Jutanugarn, who will be making her second appearance in an Aramco Team Series event.

“I wanted to pick the legend Catriona as she’ll make me feel a lot more calm — maybe I can learn from her, as well. I’m really happy with my team.

“For us, I think it’s just a case of going out, enjoying it and having fun. If we do, I’m sure we’ll be good!”

Asked if her captain for the week, the world No. 50, was a player she respected, Matthew said: “Oh, absolutely! I’ve played a lot with Moriya on the LPGA over the years. I haven’t seen her in a wee while, so I’m delighted to be playing together and being able to catch up.”

Jutanugarn was one pick earlier in the draft than her younger sister, Ariya.

Ariya also used her captain’s selection to recruit a Scot — Laura Beveridge. Anne-Charlotte Mora of France was the third addition to the team.

Asked about her captain’s pick, the two-time Major-winner said: “I’ve not known so much about Laura, but I had been looking at all the stats before picking her, so I’m pretty sure she’s going to help the team.

“Already we’re having so much fun, talking about what we’re going to eat today and where the good Thai food is! I’m pretty sure we’re going to be a good team.”

This week’s debut Bangkok leg will be the first of five $1million Aramco Team Series tournaments on the Ladies European Tour calendar for 2022 — and the first with the three-day event’s new format.

Updated from last year’s inaugural Series, the teams will now compete over only 36 holes – the Thursday and Friday of the tournament – with $500,000 prize money being split between the lowest scoring fourballs.

Saturday’s final day of play will see only the lowest scoring 60 players and ties from the opening two days return to the course to battle it out for a share of another $500,000, this time in individual earnings.

Big names set to compete with the likes of the Jutanugarn sisters include fellow Thai superstar Patty Tavatanakit, who selected Finland’s Noora Komulainen as her captain’s pick — and who returns home to compete ranked as the world No. 13.

England’s Charley Hull has a blistering Aramco Team Series record, with three top 10 team finishes and a solo victory in last year’s New York event. She chose good friend and fellow English golfer Lauren Taylor as her teammate for the week’s fourball action.

Australia’s Whitney Hillier leaned on her mother’s Thai heritage to recruit Chonlada Chayanun, whose home course is this week’s host course, Thai Country Club.

The Aramco Team Series — Bangkok kicks off 2022’s run of ATS events, and will be followed by four more $1million tournaments in London, Sotogrande, New York and Jeddah.

You might also like:
New twist in LIV Golf tale
Sensational finish at Dubai Golf Trophy
Sergio Garcia ‘can’t wait to quit PGA Tour’
LIV Golf: Bland’s British Masters title defence takes a twist
Westwood and ‘many more’ request release to play LIV Golf Invitational Series
Look: Phil Mickelson spotted on golf course
Tiger Woods plays Southern Hills ahead of PGA Championship
LIV Golf Invitational Series continues to take shape
Trump to host LIV finale
Greg Norman rejected by R&A for Open Championship
Report: First PGA Tour player request to play LIV Golf events

The post Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn teams up with Solheim Cup hero Catriona Matthew at this week’s Aramco Team Series – Bangkok appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Sister act: Thailand’s Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn ready to shine at home on Aramco Team Series — Bangkok

Matt Smith — Sat, 07 May 2022 09:03:32 +0000

Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn

By Matt Smith

The stage is set for the Aramco Team Series to return on the Ladies European Tour – and it is back bigger and better with a new starting point in Bangkok to tee off the series’ 2022 campaign.

The LET will set up camp at Thai Country Club on May 12-14 for the curtain-raiser on a momentous, game-changing campaign as the tour embarks on its most lucrative in history, with 34 events across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and as far afield as the United States and Australia.

Last season’s introduction of the Aramco Team Series (ATS) events brought four $1million prize-fund tournaments to the calendar, taking the Tour to London, Sotogrande in Spain, New York and Jeddah for three-days of team and individual competition in a new-look format.

Now, following a successful debut year, the Aramco Team Series returns for 2022, but this time with the addition of the Aramco Team Series — Bangkok, to be played in Thailand next week.

The events return with a revived format (two days of team competition, then a closing day individual-only battle), and, importantly, the opportunity for players to earn further prize money, with a share of another $1million added to the year’s kitty.

Each ATS event sees up to 36 team captains pick a teammate, then be assigned a randomly selected third teammate and an amateur golfer, who plays with a handicap. Together, they then compete over the Thursday and Friday as a fourball, with the two lowest scores per hole recorded and the lowest total score winning.

Moriya Jutanugarn

Home advantage

Former world No. 1 and two-time major winner Ariya Jutanugarn will be joined by sister Moriya, the world No. 42, to compete alongside a host of the best players on the planet in the unique competition when the action begins in Bangkok.

And they are certainly looking to make a splash in the event as it comes to their homeland — where they are already superstars in their own right.

“This will easily be my favourite week of the year,” Ariya tells Golf Digest Middle East. “It was such an easy decision to play in an event is helping change the game and make it more exciting -— and it is right here in my homeland.

To be playing, or contending, with my sister makes it even more special. Have you seen her? Wow!”

Ariya, 26, is of course referring to Moriya, her elder sister by one year and best friend. It is plain to see there is no sibling rivalry here as they simply encourage each other in everything they do and are always seen cheering on each other on the course.

“It is new to me and it will be fun,” added Moriya. “I always play as an individual, while also supporting Ariya, but this will be a team event as well, where me and my guys will all be leaning on each other.

“My mindset is always set up for an individual sport, focus on myself and come up with the goods. This will all be a little different and that is what makes it more exciting.

“I know the venue well. I have always dreamed of winning at home since I was a kid and now Aramco can help me achieve that.”

Ariya Jutanugarn

Ariya also knows what it means to win — with her sister alongside her, that is.

“We won together as a team last year and it is such fun,” she said. “We have to wait for the draft, but whomever gets Moriya in her team — she got your back.

“The fun part of this format is it allows you to do different things as part of a team that you would not normally risk on your own. Plus you get the high-fives!”

Moriya is delighted to see the LET try out new formats, and the tour ventured into yet more new territory last month with the Trust Golf mixed events, where men and women from the Asian Tour and LET competed together for the first time, chasing the same trophy and prize money.

“To do different is always fun. It grows the game to have new ideas and it shows we can mix it with the boys.”

Ariya — surprise, surprise — concurs with her sister.

“There is no secret to success in golf, you just got to be happy, and this is certainly doing that.”

More
Game on for Dubai Golf Trophy
Sergio Garcia ‘can’t wait to quit PGA Tour’
LIV Golf: Bland’s British Masters title defence takes a twist
Dubai Golf Trophy is back!
Westwood and ‘many more’ request release to play LIV Golf Invitational Series
Look: Phil Mickelson spotted on golf course
Tiger Woods plays Southern Hills ahead of PGA Championship
LIV Golf Invitational Series continues to take shape
Trump to host LIV finale
Greg Norman rejected by R&A for Open Championship
Report: First PGA Tour player request to play LIV Golf events

The post Sister act: Thailand’s Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn ready to shine at home on Aramco Team Series — Bangkok appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Thai stars Tavatanakit and Jutanugarn sisters ready for home debut at Aramco Team Series — Bangkok

Matt Smith — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 09:53:31 +0000

By Matt Smith
The Aramco Team Series — Bangkok will have some added spice as three of Thailand’s top golfers have confirmed they will be taking part in the May 12-14 event at Thai Country Club.

World No. 14 Patty Tavatanakit is ready to show why she is one of the hottest properties on the Ladies European Tour when she makes her Aramco Team Series debut next month.

Th 22-year-old shot to prominence over the past 12 months thanks to claiming a stunning victory in the 2021 ANA Inspiration, plus multiple other top 10 performances, including at two more majors — the PGA Championship and British Open.

Ariya Jutanugarn

She will be joined by former world No. 1 and two-time major winner Ariya Jutanugarn and her sister and world No. 42 Moriya, helping boost local interest in the $1 million Aramco event.

The Aramco Team Series has been expanded to five events this season after last year’s successful debut, with Bangkok having the honour of hosting the opening event, where four-player teams compete for the title while the golfers also fight it out for individual honours. Using a draft system, each team captain picks their first player, before being randomly allocated a third professional and an amateur.

This season will also see a revised format for the event with the team event taking place over the first two days, with the third round for individuals making the cut in a last-day shootout.

“It’s amazing to see global tournaments like the Aramco Team Series come to my hometown of Bangkok,” Tavatanakit said. “The ATS tournaments are providing really cool opportunities for players all over the world and the new wave of female talent in Thailand to get chances on the LET and impress in front of the world. There’s a real buzz for women’s golf in Thailand after some of our performances on the international stage so it’s a great chance to keep that momentum.”

Following the curtain-raiser in Bangkok, the Aramco Team Series jets off around the world, and golf’s first team event series on any professional tour will head to London (Centurion Club, June 16-18), Sotogrande (La Reserva Club De Sotogrande, August 18-20), New York (Venue TBC, October 13-15), and Jeddah (Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, November 9-11).

Moriya Jutanugarn

“I’ve heard really positive things about the Aramco Team Series with a fresh format and the chance to play and connect with different players on the LET,” Ariya Jutanugarn said. “It gives players a lot more to play for during a tournament week both as a team and as an individual. I’ve enjoyed success before in team formats alongside my sister Moriya – so I’m looking forward to seeing who I get to team up with in the draft and a chance to host them on home soil in Thailand.”

Majed Al Sorour, Deputy Chairman and CEO of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation added: “The Aramco Team Series is bigger and better this year and it’s exciting to expand to Asia and one of golf’s fastest growing markets in Thailand. It’s a hotbed of talent with players now getting more opportunities to mix it with the LET’s very best players in different formats with global exposure. It’s a chance to showcase the growth of women’s sport, superstar names and the next generation — all from a perfect venue in Bangkok to kick off the new ATS season.”

MORE
Saudi golf continues to thrive
Asian Tour breaking new ground with Trust Golf events
Chantananuwat clings on to lead at Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup
Thai teen Ratchanon Chantananuwat’s learning curve at Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup
Tiger confirms he will play Open at St Andrews
Scottie Scheffler continues the ride of his life

The post Thai stars Tavatanakit and Jutanugarn sisters ready for home debut at Aramco Team Series — Bangkok appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Former world No.1 Ariya Jutanugarn cannot wait to experience The Faldo under lights…and Dubai after work

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 16:23:25 +0000

Dubai Moonlight Classic drawcard Ariya Jutanugarn on her first taste of night-time golf, her love-hate relationship with her driver and why travelling the world with older sister Moriya is the best.

By GolfDigestme.com

Welcome to Dubai for the first time?
I have never ever been here before – it is one of my dream destinations I really wanted to come and look around. I was delighted when I knew I was coming here. I have the tournament of course but on Saturday and Sunday, I am planning to do as much as I can to see around the city.

Is this your first shot at night golf?
It is yes, but really I view it as another experience that I will have to learn from. I did wonder, how am I going to see the ball but I have asked players and they have told me you can see the ball fine because of the floodlights, and I also wondered about reading the greens but this is just an experience to learn from that I am looking forward to! I never played before but my sister has played a couple of times I think.

You have never played the Faldo course. Have you done any background research?
I really wanted to see the course at night as I don’t know what it would be like. But watching the videos I realised it is not so dark with all the floodlights! I do see there is a lot of water to carry this week!

Do you have any fears about water and hazards now?
Of course, I will look at the water but I will try not to think negative thoughts about it, rather I think about where I want to go, and where I want to put my shot. Sometimes I have nerves and excitement on first hole but I have tried to learn and manage my fear so that when I am scared I am still able to hit the golf ball.

Tell us about that love-hate relationship with your driver, you don’t use the club much…
I would say a long time ago, after I had surgery on my shoulder, I struggled to hit driver so didn’t hit for a while and since 2015 I felt I don’t really need to hit driver. Some of the courses, I don’t need to hit it and I’m happy hitting 3 wood off the tee. So it is tough for me because if I bring driver I have to leave out another club and think of another game plan. But I’m hitting driver almost every day (on the range) and some time I hope I will feel comfortable on the course with it.

You work with Pia Nilsson and Lynne Marriott – the performance coaches at VISION54, what is so special about them?
I first met them in 2016, only 2-3 months before I won the tournament. They are so different, they teach me how to only focus on my game and not think about the outcome. We always want to win the tournament and play well and win, but thinking about that is not going to help you – you have to think about only what is under your control. They help me with this and for 5 years now I have been working with them.

Talk about playing and progressing with your sister Moriya, how important is it to have each other, and do you support each other’s games?
I feel so lucky to have her, we grew up together and practice together and still live together and everywhere I go to play, she is with me so I never get lonely and she is also there if I need to talk to someone – she supports me in everything.
When we young we like to talk about golf. We talked about bad shots and whatever and then after we take lessons with Pia and Lynn we stop talking about that. We only now say something good or positive. So if I talk to her I only talk about making birdies or positive things that happened during the round. We mostly talk about drama of life away from golf, and now we have a dog so now after rounds it is all about training and taking care of the dog.

You went 1015 days without a win between the 2018 Scottish Ladies and the Honda LPGA Thailand earlier this year. How did you feel during this time?
Actually, I didn’t feel a win is coming at all, and yes of course I felt down on myself. I felt I was working so hard so why wasn’t this turning into a win? I was working hard but I hadn’t had a win since 2018 and it was starting to test my patience. Golf is a sport where you start off every week as a new week. We feel different every day, so you can’t expect to play well every week. But I still have to do my very best and do my job. But you simply have to do your best even if the outcome isn’t the way you want it to be.

Your compatriot Atthaya Thitikul will also be playing this week, what can we expect from her?
You know to me she is one of the best players, she works so hard and her motivation is second to none. Her and Patty Tavatanakit (another young Thai golfer) are so inspiring to me, the way they work hard and practice and work out – all to get better at golf and be the best players they can be. This is very inspiring and they will both be great players in the future.

You are the first Thai player to win on LPGA, and first Thai to win a Major championship, is there anything in particular that you are proud of?
The Honda Classic was special – I played that event since I was 11, and played so well in 2013 but lost to Inbee Park on the last hole, and have been wanting to win it for almost 10 years so it was very special.

Tell us about the Thai people and love you have over all these years…
All the Thai fans give me the best support I ever had, even on the bad days they believe in me and give me their support me. Winning this year, I felt I had been struggling for 2-3 years not about golf but everything going on, I almost felt like I should give up because it was so hard for me but I kept going and doing my thing and that has proved you should never give up, keep doing your thing and working hard and one day it will work out.

The post Former world No.1 Ariya Jutanugarn cannot wait to experience The Faldo under lights…and Dubai after work appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Jutanugarn sisters headline a trio of Thai stars confirmed for Dubai Moonlight Classic

Kent Gray — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 07:10:31 +0000

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Moriya (left) and Ariya Jutanugarn celebrate after winning the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational at Midland Country Club in July.

By Kent Gray
The Jutanugarn sisters, Ariya and Moriya, will be joined by another high-flying Thai prodigy, Atthaya Thitikul, as the headline acts at the 15th Dubai Moonlight Classic later this month.

Legendary Dame Laura Davies, the now 57-year-old four-time major champion, and two-time Solheim Cup-winning captain Catriona Matthew, 52, were the other big names confirmed on Monday for the Oct. 27-29 Ladies European Tour Pro-Am to be played on The Faldo course at Emirates Golf Club.

After an 11-year association with Omega, the UAE’s only professional ladies event also has a new tournament partner with the €260,000 Dubai Moonlight Classic now “presented by EGA”. Emirates Global Aluminium is a long-time supporter of the Dubai Classics which are owned and organised by Falcon and Associates.

Ariya Jutanugarn, 25, is a former world No.1 and became the first golfer, male or female, from Thailand to win a major when she captured the 2016 Women’s British Open. She has since won the 2018 U.S. Open among her 12 LPGA Tour victories.

Moriya, 27, was LPGA Tour rookie-of-the-year in 2013 and has gone on to claim two titles on the world’s richest female tour, the most recent of which, the Dow Great Lakes Bay (teams) Invitational, was emotionally shared with her younger sister in July.

Thitikul is famous for becoming the youngest golfer ever to win a professional golf event when she won the LET’s Thailand Championship as an amateur on July 9, 2017, aged just 14 years, 4 months and 19 days.

David Cannon/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
Atthaya Thitikul during the opening round of the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie Golf Links on August 19, 2021 in Carnoustie, Scotland.

Now 18, Thitikul’s résumé boasts four LET wins and she is the current leader of the circuit’s season-long Race to Costa del Sol courtesy of victories in the Czech Ladies Open and Swiss Ladies Open and eight other top 10s in her 15 starts this season.

Thitikul is rated 28th in the latest Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, five places behind Ariya Jutanugarn and six spots ahead of 34th-ranked Moriya.

Davies, a seven-time LET Order of Merit winner and 20-time LPGA event champion, continues to compete at the highest level. She is 484th in the Rolex Rankings and finished 66th in both the Scottish and Women’s British Opens earlier this year. Matthew, meanwhile, is the first European captain to mastermind back-to-back Solheim Cup wins after orchestrating a thrilling 15-13 triumph at the Inverness Club in Ohio last month. She is 577th in the Rolex Rankings and has won six LET titles in a glittering career.

After Covid-19 safety precautions ensured the 2020 Dubai Moonlight Classic was played behind closed doors in a bio-secure bubble, the 2021 tournament will return with fans. However, there is a small tweak to the format with the Pro-Am portion of the event now limited to 18 holes after the amateurs contested the opening 36-holes last year.

“In addition to free entry for all, a collaboration with Truckers UAE is set to provide spectators with a variety of culinary delights from the city’s vibrant local F&B scene, while golf taster sessions run by the Peter Cowen Academy will be available for all age groups and abilities, providing family fun under the floodlights,” Falcon and Associates said in a media statement.

They said it…

Laura Davies
“It is always a pleasure to return to Dubai; the players love to come here and tackle the Faldo. The weather and conditions are perfect for golf, and the atmosphere is always excellent. Playing under floodlights is something unique and it gives the event an attractive dimension for new fans.”

Catriona Matthew
“Dubai has always been a favourite destination for women’s golf and the city is a long-term supporter of the Ladies European Tour. Once again the strong field and the tournament will inspire more interest in the game with female audience – it would be great to see more young Arab girls playing the sport.”

Simon Corkill, Executive Tournament Director
“The Dubai Moonlight Classic is one of the most highly anticipated, inclusive events on Dubai’s social and sporting schedule. We look forward to welcoming fans on Thursday and Friday to a celebration of world-class sport, food, and entertainment set against the stunning Dubai Marina backdrop.”

The post Jutanugarn sisters headline a trio of Thai stars confirmed for Dubai Moonlight Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Move over South Korea. The next wave of top international female golfers are coming from here

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 22:52:15 +0000

David Cannon
Ariya Jutanugarn and Patty Tavatanakit, both major champions, are Thailand’s two leading golfers.

Fifteen years in the making, Thailand has emerged the next big force in women’s golf

By Kent Paisley
The LPGA has been a bimodal world since Se Ri Pak elevated South Korean golf by winning the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open. Since then, South Korea and the United States have dominated the tour, with their respective flags—both featuring red, white, and blue—peppering the top of the tour’s leader boards.

But a third red, white, and blue banner is emerging among the duelling powers in 2021. In 21 tournaments played on the LPGA Tour this season, tour pros from Thailand have the second-most victories (four) of any country, ahead of South Korea (three) and trailing only the U.S. (seven).

Ask most observers and they’ll tell you the rise of Thai talent on tour is the 15-year payoff of the LPGA creating a tour stop in the country in 2006 with the launch of the Honda LPGA Thailand.

“Just bringing the event to Thailand every single year, it’s been a big impact,” said Patty Tavatanakit, a 21-year-old rookie who earned a breakthrough victory in April when she won the ANA Inspiration. “I can say for a fact I wouldn’t grow up going to those events and watch them play and make it my dream to come out here.”

Two years before the Honda LPGA Thailand began, Russy Gulyanamitta became the first Thai golfer to reach the tour. Indeed, the nation wasn’t worth mentioning among golf powers at the time. In 2006, just one Thai golfer recorded one lone top-10 finish, Virada Nirapathpongporn’s T-5 at the LPGA Corning Classic.

Even so, Honda Automobile, the Thai-based title sponsor, started laying the groundwork for the rise of golf within the country, using its sponsor’s invitations on local Thai players. In the tournament’s first year, current tour members Pornanong Phatlum and Jasmine Suwannapura (an eventual two-time tour winner) made their maiden LPGA starts. Subsequently, Moriya Jutanugarn (2009), Ariya Jutanugarn (2010), Tavatanakit (2015) and Pajaree Anannarukarn (2017), the four LPGA winners from Thailand this year, all made their first appearances on tour at the event.

More importantly, the tournament’s investment in golf reached the grassroots level. Tournament officials hosted golf clinics with LPGA players during the week to teach the game to Thai kids. Pro-Am parties let participants learn more about life on tour. Tavatanakit recalled soaking in all the Honda LPGA Thailand could offer her golf dreams in 2012. She participated in a clinic, then attended the pro-am party with a friend that let her talk with Christina Kim and take a photo with Paula Creamer.

“Little moments like that keep on inspiring my younger self,” Tavatanakit said. “I’m sure I believe younger people, younger kids would feel inspired too if they have those moments.”

In turn, the investment set in motion what would be the game’s explosive growth within the country. A decade later Ariya Jutanugarn won the 2016 Ricoh British Women’s Open, making her the first Thai player to win a major. In her post-round victory press conference, Jutanugarn kept her aims small but meaningful.

“I hope I can inspire somebody in Thai [to take up golf],” Jutanugarn said after her victory.

Jutanugarn’s win launched its own surge of Thai LPGA victories. In the last six years, Thai players have won 18 LPGA tournaments. That’s the third most of any country over that time, trailing only South Korea (55) and the United States (37).

Carmen Mandato
Moriya Jutanugarn, older sister of Ariya, is among four Thai golfers to win on the LPGA Tour in 2021.

In signs of the exponential growth, the 18 victories are over half the top-10s Thai LPGA members had from the preceding decade (32) after the creation of the Honda LPGA Thailand in 2006 to 2015.

Ariya (12 wins including the most recent with her sister) holds the bulk of Thai LPGA trophies, but the list of winners is expanding. Suwanapurra and Moriya Jutanugarn won for the first time in 2018, having two victories each. Tavatanakit and Anannarukarn joined their compatriots this year.

Thailand’s growing talent extends beyond its winners. Atthaya Thitikul almost won the Honda LPGA Thailand this season, if not for Ariya snatching victory out of her hands with a final-round 63 to beat Thitikul by one and to become the first Thai player to win the tournament. The 18-year-old Thitikul is impressing on two tours in 2021. She hasn’t finished outside the top-five in four starts on the LPGA and sits atop the Ladies European Tour money list with a victory and seven top-10s in ten starts on the LET. Wichanee Meechai posted her career-best T-5 at the Pure Silk Championship this year and finished T-8 at the ISPS Handa World Invitational.

Phatlum finished runner-up at the 2018 Women’s British Open. Despite tropical Thailand and temperate U.K.’s opposing climates, Thai players have finished in the top two in three of the last five AIG Women’s Opens. Suwannapura finished second to Sophia Popov in 2020.

“I envision us to be sort of like the [South] Koreans, where we’re always on top of the leader board,” Tavatanakit said. “A lot of times we’re just on top of leader boards on top of each other. I feel like every time I see that, I feel so proud that we as a country, we can also be dominant and do this out here [on the LPGA].”

Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, founders of Vision54, have their fingerprints all over the rising Thai depth. They’ve worked with the Jutanugarns for the last six seasons, Tavatanakit for the past two years, as well as Anannarukarn and Meechai attending Vision54’s golf schools. The pair noticed the growth of Thai golf within the increased enrollment in their academy and the additional demand for their coaching.

“We have had about 15 Thai players coming for coaching or our golf schools,” Nilsson said via email. “Lots of interest among Thai teachers to come to the U.S. for training or do our remote trainings.”

Thananuwat Srirasant
Many point to Atthaya Thitikul, a three-time Ladies European Tour winner, as Thailand’s next breakout star golfer.

The current Thai success on the LPGA is fueling the churning wheel that’s led to expansive growth in women’s golf in Thailand. Investment in opportunities leads to inspiring moments, leading to more players on the LPGA, leading to further investment in opportunities.

The Trust Scottish Open last week is the latest example of Thailand’s continued connection with the LPGA. It’s the second tour event with a Thai-based company, Trust Golf, as the title sponsor. Like the Honda LPGA Thailand, Trust Golf provided opportunities to players from its homeland, with 11 Thai players in the field.

“I feel like it’s more like Thai Tour right now,” Meechai said after the first round of the Trust Scottish Open. “Like you see, meet a lot of Thai girls and can speak Thai with them. I feel so comfortable with them. I love it.”

Thai players were in contention as well at Dumbarnie Links. Ariya [fourth] and Thitikul [T-2] finished inside the top-10.

Former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan singled out Thailand as a thriving example of how podium sports in the Olympics can fuel golf’s growth within a nation; Ariya Jutanugarn and Tavatanakit representing the country in the Tokyo Games two weeks ago. South Korea and the United States have owned women’s golf at the games, being the only two nations to send four athletes [The Olympics requiring each player to be inside the top 15 in the Olympic Golf Rankings to have more than two representatives]. Each country further asserted itself by winning a gold medal, with Inbee Park [2016] and Nelly Korda [2020] the two modern-day gold medalists.

The 2024 Games is where Tavatanakit has her eye for the next step of Thai golf’s rise into the LPGA powers.

“Hopefully by the time we get to Paris,” Tavatanakit said, “there will be four players from Thailand.”

The post Move over South Korea. The next wave of top international female golfers are coming from here appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Ariya Jutanugarn is an LPGA winner again, confesses she was close to stepping away from the game

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 09 May 2021 21:28:33 +0000

Photo: Thananuwat Srirasant
Ariya Jutanugarn reacts making birdie on her last hole en route to victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand.

By Kent Paisley
It’s become a theme in 2021, star players ending surprisingly long victory droughts. Jordan Spieth (Valero Texas Open), Hideki Matsuyama (Masters), Lydia Ko (Lotte Championship), Brooke Henderson (Hugel-Air Premia LA Open) and Hyo Joo Kim (HSBC Women’s World Championship) all have found themselves champions again after long waits to regain their winning form.

On Sunday at the Honda LPGA Thailand, former World No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn joined them, shooting a closing 63 to win by a shot at Siam Country Club and become the first Thai native to win the 15-year-old tournament.

But Jutanugarn’s victory—made even more dramatic after having to wait out a 69-minute weather delay to see if her score would hold up—was particularly inspirational after hearing just how dark things had gotten for the 25-year-old two-time major winner, whose last victory came at the 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open some 1,015 days earlier.

“I just feel so good,” Jutanugarn said at her press conference after winning her 11th career LPGA title. “Not only for a Thai player to win, but I had really tough time last two years. I don’t know how many times I told my psych coach, ‘You know what, I want to rest, I want to stop for a while.’ But every time, I looked at the kids, I wanted to give them inspiration, too. So I felt like, you know what, just don’t give up, do your best, try harder, keep trying, and one day, you will get it.”

Her closest point from walking away from the game was last year when inconsistency with her swing caused to struggle just to post top-10 finishes. Jutanugarn credited her team—she works with Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott—for keeping faith in her regardless of how much she had in herself.

“I would say without them I am not who I am. How many times I just wanted to stop, and I feel it’s so tough for me,” Jutanugarn said. “Pia and Lynn told me this morning that I want you to believe in yourself in the same level they believe in me. That meant so much to me.”

“As a young star, she was experiencing the bad stress of expectations from herself and others,” Nilsson said. “With all the attention, she is figuring out who she is, what makes her happy and what she wants in life and golf.”

Jutanugarn has been talking to Nilsson and Marrriott on the phone every day during the LPGA’s two weeks in Asia. It was Nilsson’s birthday Saturday, and Nilsson asked Jutanugarn for a gift: be fully committed all day. Like the nugget they gave fellow Thai native Patty Tavatanakit before her victory at the ANA Inspiration, it worked wonders.

Jutanugarn started the final round five off Tavatanakit’s lead. She birdied her opening three holes, setting the pace for a six-under 30 front nine. She was part of a cadre of stars climbing up the leader board to pressure Tavatanakit and 18-year-old Atthaya Thitikul, another Thai native trying to make history in the event. Defending champion Amy Yang and former World No. 1 So Yeon Ryu shot 64s to finish at 20 under.

Tavatanakit, who shot a pair of 64s to start the tournament, ultimate fell out of contention with a final-round 70, birdieing her last two holes to join Yang and Ryu in third place.

Jutanugarn, down to the No. 33 player in the world, did not lose steam on the back nine. She birdied the 10th and 12th holes to sit eight under par for the round and 21 under for the tournament. She had putts to tie the lead on the 14th, 17th and 18th, making the final one to get to the clubhouse at 22 under.

The tie was only for a blink, as Thitikul three-putted for her first bogey of the day on the 17th to fall back to 21 under. She teed off on the short par-5 18th, with her average drive of 276 yards putting her in position to reach in two.

Then, the horn blared with bad weather moving in.

While the final two groups had golf left to play, Jutanugarn tried to stay away from everyone. She listened to music near the practice facility until it reopened, her sister Moriya around lending moral support.

When play resumed, Thitikul hit her second shot to the back fringe. She then chipped her third to four feet, setting up a birdie putt that would lead to a playoff, only to miss the putt and finish one back.

Thananuwat Srirasant
Atthaya Thitikul, 18, fell one shot shy of becoming the first Thai native to win the Honda LPGA Thailand.

“That last putt I just feel like, ‘OK, give me a good one and do my best that I can,’ ” Thitikul said.

Like Hannah Green last week, Thitikul missed two short putts on the final two holes to hand the win to the clubhouse leader.

When Jutanugarn realized she won, she broke down and kneeled on the ground, embraced by Moriya. All the emotions of nearly walking away from golf last year welled up within her.

#CheersToTheChampion ?

With her win at the @hondalpgath, Ariya @jutanugarn punched her ticket to the 2022/2023 @diamondresorts Tournament of Champions! ?
#DiamondLPGA pic.twitter.com/LqQwdi88Bj

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 9, 2021

“She said, ‘No matter, I’m always proud of you,’ ” Jutanguarn said of what Moriya told her.

“As a young star, she was experiencing the bad stress of expectations from herself and others,” Nillson said. “With all the attention, she is figuring out who she is, what makes her happy and what she wants in life and golf.”

After the trophy ceremony, Jutanugarn and Thitikul hugged. Like the role model Jutanugarn is to Thai golfers, she told the 18-year-old she should’ve won the tournament with how she handled the pressure. The pride of Thailand golf ended her victory presser with an inspiring message to the kids of Thailand on not giving up.

“Of course, when we have a tough time, sometimes we thinking about giving up,” Jutanugarn said. “At the same times, if you go enough, I think you’re not going to give up. Just be patient with it and believing in yourself. The timing of your life is different, don’t compare yourself to others, don’t keep asking why they play so good, why they win the tournament. Just do your best.”

“One day your turn is going to come.”

It’s a lesson in perseverance we can all take away from her historic accomplishment.

The post Ariya Jutanugarn is an LPGA winner again, confesses she was close to stepping away from the game appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Hannah Green made the improbable possible, winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 04:53:48 +0000

By Keely Levins
No one would have picked Hannah Green to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship—not even herself. She admitted in the media centre after her victory on Sunday, the trophy shining next to her, that she knew it sounded bad, but at the beginning of the week, the 114th-ranked player in the world really didn’t expect to win.

The 22-year-old from Australia had never claimed an LPGA Tour title but went wire to wire at historic Hazeltine National Golf Club to make win No. 1 a major. This outcome seemed particularly unlikely, no disrespect to Green, with two-time major winner Ariya Jutanugarn one shot behind, and three more major champions within six shots with one round to play.

One thing Green had going for her was that she was staying with fellow Aussie Karrie Webb, a seven-time major winner. In 2015, Green had been the recipient of Webb’s scholarship, where the World Golf Hall of Famer brings the top two female amateur players in Australia to the U.S. to watch a major and experience what the tour is like while staying with Webb herself. This week, Green was staying with Webb again along with the current scholarship winners and said the setup helped keep her calm throughout the week.

“As soon as I got home [after the round Saturday] everyone was there and making the food so it was really nice to just have all the Australians there, and there really wasn’t much golf talk at all,” Green said. “That was perfect. That’s what I wanted.”

As nice as her housing setup was, Green still had to go out and finish off the major. She did not make it easy on herself.

Though starting with two birdies in the first seven holes, Green made three bogeys in a four-hole span from Nos. 9-12. Until that point, she had made three bogeys in the entire tournament. Nerves had to surface at some point, one would expect. Yet Green made no more bogeys coming in, a remarkable fact given how many fairways she missed. She was playing out of the rough nearly as often as she was the fairway, hitting just 57 per cent of fairways on the week, ranking her T-70 in driving accuracy. Where she made up for it, though, was with greens hit in regulation. Despite how often she played out of the thick, wet rough, Green hit 71 per cent of them. When her driver let her down, her iron game bailed her out. And she had the speed of the greens dialled in all week, allowing her to two-putt from seemingly anywhere.

Darren Carroll/PGA of America

In moments when Green was at her most vulnerable, there were several players who could have mounted an attack. Sung Hyun Park and Nelly Korda got dangerously close, but Korda made bogey at 15 and Green made birdie at 16, maintaining her lead. Jutanugarn had already made too many bogeys to make any sort of charge.

Green had a two-shot lead as she stood waiting on the 18th tee, but it was cut to one as Park, the defending champion playing in the group ahead of Green, rolled in an 18-footer for birdie up on the 18th green.

Need a par to win, Green unusually hit the fairway, but yanked her approach into a left greenside bunker, short-siding herself. Still, she handled her nerves and hit her bunker shot to five feet of the hole. Then she calmly holed the putt for the victory.

Jamie Squire

With a win like this—wholly improbable—there has to be some sort of lesson to be learned. It could be about playing your own game, which Green did throughout. She never let the gravity of the moment force her into hitting shots outside of her comfort zone. She calmly kept her poise throughout all four rounds, no small feat. Playing in the final group at a major can cause regrettable shots from anyone. It’s a battle, attempting to do something you’ve never done before.

Maybe the most important lesson is that before Green got here, she had already learned how to win. In the development of young players, it is a critical, sometimes overlooked, step. Having won three times on the Symetra Tour prepared Green for this week, and helped her keep this win from slipping away.

It is an idea we’ve heard from Brooks Koepka, who played mini tours and experienced winning around the world before he even got to the PGA Tour. It helped prepare him to win at the highest level. Being able to hit great shots is one thing, but actually converting them into victories is an entirely different skill set, one that needs to be experienced so that when you are in a major with the lead on Sunday you’re not lost.

“Winning her first Symetra, that was just as important to her at that time in her life as it was winning today,” said Webb. “She’s had those feelings of leading, trying to win a golf tournament and even though it’s on a different stage it’s still the same thing, you still have to do the same thing to get the ball in the hole at the end of the day.”

The post Hannah Green made the improbable possible, winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.