The 15-year-old American-Thai will become the first female to play a MENA Tour event after accepting a sponsors invite from MahaSamutr Country Club for the 54-hole event at Banyan Golf Club in Hua Hin.

“I’m not playing to prove anything, but just loved the idea of playing in a men’s event. Simple as that,” Tip-Aucha said of her historic appearance which is sure to hog headlines as the tour begins its three-tournament Thailand swing.

“This is a new challenge for me and I love challenges because they offer me an opportunity to grow in some way and stretch my creative muscles. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson have all played in men’s events in recent years following Babe Didrikson Zaharaias’ pioneering feat when she teed it up in a PGA Tour event in 1938.

The developmental Pro-Am MENA Tour isn’t at the same level but will still undoubtedly test the slightly built Tip-Aucha.

Born and raised in the US, the teen does bring top form to Banyan GC. She has already won five times on the Thailand girls golf circuit this year including victory at the International School Junior Golf Tournament and ASB Eagle Cup. In the U.S. she won the 47th Virginia State Golf Association Championship and the Junior All-Star at Chantilly National last year.

“Obviously, my immediate goal is to post a strong finish, but I can’t really control all of it. What I can control is how hard I try and what I can do. What I can do is to have fun out there and just play the best I can,” Tip-Aucha said.

“I hope the experience of playing alongside MENA Tour players will stand me good stead and that will be the biggest takeaway from the tournament.”

Tip-Aucha said she was grateful for the invite and “I truly value their [MahaSamutr Country Club] gesture.” Veeranat Limprasutr, Head of Business Development and Director of Operations at MahaSamutr Country Club, was playing the mutual appreciation game on the eve of the event.

“We are really delighted to have Victoria join our tournament. She is charismatic, she is skillful and her presence will keep the atmosphere buzzing,” said Limprasutr.

“Golf is a game you play against yourself, so it’s going to be a Victoria vs Victoria show in her quest to improve and test her abilities. If you look at her achievements, it’s so impressive. Our invitation is a step in the process of making her a better player.”

Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Tour added: “It’s indeed ground-breaking for the Tour as Victoria is making her first foray into a men’s event. She is a special talent, one who combines feminine grace with power and technique, making her a suitable candidate for a strong ambassador for the future of women’s golf.”

The MahaSamutr Masters will also see Dubai-based Indian amateur Rayhan Thomas make his first MENA Tour appearance of the season following an impressive T13 finish at the Junior Invitational, regarded as the leading junior tournament in the world, at Sage Valley GC near Augusta National earlier this month.
 

The post American teen set for historic MENA Tour start in Thailand appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

This year’s MENA Tour order-of-merit champion will tee it up at the $6.9 million Dean & Deluca Invitational at historic Colonial Country Club in May next year.

The coup comes courtesy of a close relationship between one of the MENA Tour’s tournament sponsors, Thailand’s MahaSamutr Country Club, and fine food specialists Dean & Deluca.

“This partnership, in conjunction with Colonial Country Club, marks another ground-breaking step forward for the MENA Tour as it aims to form new alliances around the world that can benefit its members and grow the game of golf,” the MENA Tour said in a statement.

Two-time major winner and former world No.1 Jordan Spieth is the reigning champion at Colonial in a tournament which drapes its champions, a veritable whose who of the game’s greatest names, in a red tartan jacket.

Jordan Spieth will defend the famed red tartan jacket at Colonial in May. Photo: Getty Images

Ben Hogan won the inaugural tournament in 1946 and went on to capture the title a further four times. Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw, Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson and Adam Scott have also won in what is the longest running event at the same venue and the 10th oldest event on the PGA Tour.

The invite adds considerable lure to the MENA Tour which already offers its members starts at the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic and Trophee Hassan II in Morocco in addition to playing privileges on South Africa’s Sunshine Tour and exemptions into the final stage of Asian Tour Q-School.

It also comes after chairman Mohamed Juma Buamaim critically secured Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status for the developmental Pro-Am tour last year.

The MENA Tour began in 2011 and is affiliated to The R&A and the Arab Golf Federation. Spanish rookie Leo Lilja currently leads the moneylist after winning the season-opening Casablanca Open before missing the cut in the most recent Royal Golf Mohammedia Open, also in Morocco, which was won by Dutch amateur Pierre Junior Verlaar.

“The invitation to play in one of the most prestigious PGA Tour events is a great development for the MENA Tour, one that will resonate on many levels, reinforcing the growing strength of the game in the MENA region,” said Buamaim.

“I would like to thank Dean & Deluca and MahaSamutr Country Club for their gesture and believe it will further motivate tour members to keep pushing forward. All we want is to fuel an ideal climate for competitive golf in the region for young golfers to come through the ranks and make a name for themselves. Every step is a leap forward.”

The invitation follows PACE Development’s on-going commitment of the opening event of the MENA Tour’s three-tournament Thailand swing, the $50,000 MahaSamutr Masters at Banyan Golf Club in Hua Hin (May 2-4). It is followed by another 54-holer, the $30,000 Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen (May 8-10), and the $50,000 Pattana Golf Championship, the tour’s first 72-hole event, from May 16-19.

Dean & Deluca was recently acquired by Pace Development Corporation, one of Thailand’s leading real estate firms that owns MahaSamutr Country Club. The latter made a foray into golf sponsorship when it sponsored the 2016 inaugural MahaSamutr Masters at Banyan Golf Club.

Chilean Antonio Costa, the winner of the MENA Tour’s 2016 MahaSamutr Masters, with Kajohnphob Teepaganont of Pace Development Corporation, MENA Tour chairman Mohamed Juma Buamaim, H.E. Pasan Teparak, Stacey Walton of GLS Asia, and Korrakoch Charoenplung of Pace at Banyan GC

“PACE Development Corporation is delighted to be sponsoring [the] MENA Tour for the second consecutive year and opening the tournament [Thailand swing] with MahaSamutr Masters 2017,” said Sorapoj Techakraisri, CEO of Pace Development Corporation Plc.

“We are also excited to offer this year’s tour winner an invitation to the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational in 2018 to support the tour’s long-term commitment to bringing the popularity of this game to Asia and being the first step before taking on the world stage. Good luck to all of this year’s players.”

The post MENA Tour champion to earn prestigious PGA Tour start in 2018 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.