The afternoon sun shines down on the fairway of the 18th hole at the course.Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course On Sunday, February 26, the past Along with thousands of sports fans who gradually follow the route until the end of the journey in the Honda LPGA Thailand 2023 battle
We are all looking forward to Thai women golfers making history again in this tournament.
During the final curve, Lilia Wu, the world’s 33rd hand pro from the United States who scored on the last day alone, 8 under par, came up to overtake Pro-Sim-Natthakritta Wongthaweelap, leader from round 2 and 3, who just entered the competition in the battle Honda LPGA Thailand as National Qualifiers Champion and if you win, will be the first to do so as National Qualifiers as well.
a group of Lilia Wu stepped up to the 18th hole first with one condition: to maintain par. No bogeys or birdies. is enough to guarantee the champion in hand With a solo lead at 22 under par, she finally putt and finished the tournament at 22 under par, earning her the first LPGA championship of her career.
After that, it’s time for the last group or the leader group. consisting of 3 Thai girls with Pro-Sim-Nutthakritta Wongthaweelap, Pro-Jean-Athaya Thitikul, the world’s fourth-handed golfer, and Celine Boutier, a French golfer of Thai nationality.
Field trips as a photographer When we were all cheering for Lilia Wu
Celine Butier, who today did not perform very well Walked up to the last hole to watch the game with the photographer.
to plan for the final challenging hole
Because the 18th hole is located in an area that, if hit from the fairway, is too close will have to hit uphill And if you hit too far, you will have to hit downhill.
Celine herself just had a problem hitting the 18th hole and had to putt uphill. But it appears that the ball flows beyond the hole back to where she hit. Until it’s like having to lose a stroke for free. with the wrong hitting weight
come to the group of Thailand The existing 21-under-par pro-sim only needs a birdie on this hole. to win to decide the championship with a playoff
Pro sim hit the 2nd shot, come on, go over the hole. Makes it still have a chance to move on to win the championship
The sound of Thailand, Thailand, Thailand erupted from the golf cheers the moment the Pro-Sim reached the final hole.
Before the pro-sim hits the 3 shot down, it is located on the left side of the hole. If viewed from the corner of the amphitheater
Shot 4 is the shot that decides the championship. The sound of the whole stadium was silent to wait for the important moment. Pro-Sim stepped up to wait for the putt, Pro-Jean-Athaya Thitikul, waiting to encourage her childhood friend to do what she herself could not do. is to win this championship
Pro sim up to putt The ball goes straight to the hole which is the goal in every golfer’s life.
But sometimes reaching the goal is at the rhythm of life. Because this time, her 4th shot went just a little bit. along with the sound of the entire stadium expressing regret coming out at the same time
Pro-Sim steps to collect the ball. because it was the Chinese pro’s turn that had to come and putt to continue The Chinese pro did it and finished 3rd in the race at 20 under par.
The first thing pro-Chinese did was walk straight to their childhood best friend. The pro-sim smiled at the pro-china and the pro-china went to support his friend next to him. Before she hit the last shot that was out of hope for the championship
Pro-Sim hit the 5th shot with the sound of cheering throughout the field. And the first person who walked in and hugged Pro SIM was Pro China.
“Went in to comfort him, really excited my friends, wanted me to get in the last hole, even more excited. But I understand that getting through each shot is not easy. And becoming a champion is not easy anyway. However, this week the pro sim has done very well. It’s just not his rhythm. And there are 30 more to play this year and beyond.”
“Please maintain confidence like this, you will definitely win the championship,” the Chinese pro said about the moment he walked in and hugged Pro Simma until he reached the score recording tent. The official end of this year’s competition
Day 0 “If we are not confident in ourselves Who will have confidence in us?” Pro SIM
January 18th was the first day we had the opportunity to interview for the first time with the Pro-SIM. She traveled with the competition’s PR team at THE STANDARD office and had the opportunity to have a short interview. About life as a golfer Since childhood I have been playing gymnastics before becoming a golfer. SEA Games gold medalist and is a professional golfer who just joined the LPGA Tour in his first year.
Pro Sims are highly confident golfers. We sat and talked about many things. from the beginning until today
“Of course I’m excited. Because this is the 5th time coming to select this list. And I was able to compete for the first time this year.” Pro-SIM started with the feeling of coming to Honda LPGA Thailand for the first time.
“In the past, we did not follow other Thai pros. We mainly focus on ourselves.
“When I did gymnastics before But one day we walked past a golf course. and saw that he was playing together so he stared at him So he invited me to play golf. When we tried it on, he saw that he looked good and talented, so he asked his father to come and beat him, but he said this to everyone. because he just tricked him into studying (laughs)
“But it’s worth it because he tricked me. considered a good step
“When I started playing golf, I started with tennis and then swimming. In the past, it was like training for a marathon.
“Graduated from class at 4 o’clock, went to play tennis at 5 o’clock, went to exercise and swim, 6 o’clock went into the water to practice, 2 o’clock came up to play golf and practice, it was complete, but maybe a little different.
“When we were young I want you to try everything. by wanting to be either a singer or an athlete
“In the past, when I was a child, at 10 p.m., I had to go back and sing at home.”
Pro SIM continues to tell about past golf experiences as a sport that has to be with one’s self. Focus on yourself more than anything else. happening around
“Golf has to live with it. Because if you can’t stay, you can’t hit. We were too excited, couldn’t hit it, lost the chance.
“The goal in this program is to be at the top first because this is the first time in a big program. I think there will be a lot to learn on this show.
“Ask if you are excited. We are excited about the show. not thrilled with celebrities because one day we must be popular anyway
“Really career goals Finally possible, I want to touch the world’s number one once. You can wait, you won’t lose the opportunity to wait for sure.
“We think we have to. Because we have trained for that.”
after the interview Pro-SIM joins us to take a photo in front of THE STANDARD office and ask a final question before leaving the office if you are confident with this item. Pro-Sim turned around and gave a short reply.
“If we are not confident in ourselves Who will have confidence in us?
Writer: “Okay, then let’s meet in Pattaya”
Pro SIM “Book your accommodation now”
Day 1 First time Honda LPGA Thailand returns with full tournaments.
The sunshine, the people, the walk – that’s exactly what golfers, journalists, photographers and golf fans have to deal with at golf tournaments.
But this is the first time that the tournament will be back open for everyone to return to the field in full since the outbreak of COVID-19.
in the competition at Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course Distance 6,576 yards Par 72 There are 72 golfers participating in the competition.
There are 11 Thai golfers participating in this year’s tournament and there are a total of 9,317 visitors on the first day, which is considered a large number for a weekday tournament.
On the first day of the competition, it can be seen that most golf fans follow the group with Chinese pros. Atthaya The most because she came back to Thailand this time with work to become the world’s No. 1 Rookie of the Year award and 2 LPGA championships last year.
The Chinese pros are still cheerful and enjoying the competition. With a face full of smiles like she gave an interview with THE STANDARD that she will play aggressively and enjoy golf this year. Like when I first started playing when I was 6 years old.
As for the group of pro-sims, there are golf fans following, but not as many as the group of Chinese pros. There are also foreign golf fans. especially Japan who traveled to watch the competition closely
At the end of the first day, the SIM card did a great job. By collecting 6 birdies, losing 1 bogey, ending with a score of 5 under par, doing the same work as a childhood friend like pro China or Gino, finishing in 9th place
and the first day was Pro Wan-Jarawee Boonchan, a 23-year-old professional who won her first tour card on the LPGA Tour, scored 7 under par to join the lead. world number 15 Jennifer Kupcho from the United States, world number 31 Anna Nordqvist from Sweden, Lin Xiyu from China and Nasa Hataoka from Japan.
Day 2 Sim300-Gino, a childhood friend who orbited in the second round of the Honda LPGA.
picture: LPGA
with the same scoring performance Pro China or Gino and Pro Sim therefore started together in the second round, which allowed us to see a good relationship between the two 20-year-old golfers.
Throughout the track it was evident that the Chinese pros were still enjoying the race. But many shots that Pro Sim hit The Chinese pros will turn around and encourage their friends to do better work continuously.
And it was the goal of both because the pro-sim exploded in good form, collecting 8 birdies and making 4 consecutive birdies between holes 12-15, losing 1 bogey, taking a single lead after the end of day 2 as well Total score 12 under par 132
But like all golf tournaments. We can’t be sure of any golfer’s performance until the last 2 days or the final arc of the tournament.
Day 3 Pro Sim and first day as a leader
On the 3rd day or the 3rd round, the pro-sim is still doing great. with an additional 8 under par
The Pro SIM starts with Eagle. followed by 6 more birdies and birdies in the last 3 holes as well This makes the Prosim have a total of 20 under par 196.
But today, the Chinese pro has accelerated his good form, doing 8 under par as well, with 16 under par. Prepare to start in the group of leaders together with Celine Boutier, a French girl of Thai descent who finished the third round, made 15 under par 201
This allowed us to see Thai golfers together starting as leaders in the final round of the tournament.
And the promise that Prosim made to us on January 18th has become a reality. Because we are not disappointed with the performance of the Pro Sim for the past 3 days.
Final Day Winning an LPGA Championship isn’t easy.
In the first half, Pro SIM and Pro China can still keep the score. But still unable to score more
Especially a pro sim who starts with birdies on Hole 1 but loses bogeys on Hole 2 and loses double bogeys on Hole 4.
along the way of the last day Pro sim wins and loses alternately on almost every hole.
While pro-China, on the last day, I have to admit that there are a lot of problems with putts. Causing to lose the last shot in many holes But still sticking together as a leader all day
Golf is a sport that has to compete with oneself. because one millimeter is too close or too far or a fraction of a second too late or too early It can decide between the winner and loser in every hole of the tournament.
And what no Thai golf fan wanted to happen happened. from a pro named Lilia Wu, when she exploded with 8 birdies, stepped over everyone to take 1st place before ending the final hole with the events described in the beginning.
while pro-sim and pro-china both finished in second place and ranked second and third.
After the race, Pro-Sim admitted that he had a hard time with the wind today. Until we saw a Chinese pro having to stop teeing off on the 9th hole for a moment. because the wind blows down hard all day long
in the winner’s part Prosim agrees that Lilia Wu deserves the championship.
But in terms of the pro sim itself, it’s not worth it because there are errors. along with thanks to both Thai sports fans and the Chinese pro who came to comfort him in the final stages of the competition
End Credit: Thai golf industry The winner of this year’s Honda LPGA Thailand tournament.
46,879 people is the number of sports fans who come to watch the competition throughout the 4 days divided into
Thursday, February 23, 9,317 people
Friday, February 24, 9,113 people
Saturday, February 25, 12,976 people
Sunday, February 26, 15,472 people
By going to the area, it was found that they were children. that is very interested in golfers One of them is the child of Ball-Paradon Srichaphan, a Thai tennis legend who brought his family to watch the match. Along with posting pictures that
“inspiration for my little girl”
which is a reflection of the growing Thai women’s golf industry.
We once had the opportunity to interview former LPGA president Michael Wan who said, The future of Thai golf has looked very bright since the day Prome-Ariya Jutanugarn stepped up to the highest level of competition.
Until today, Pro China, the second Thai female golfer who has successfully become the world’s number one gave an interview after the race that Seeing a childhood friend like Pro-Sim including many other golfers People stepped up to compete at a high level. It is a good sign of the Thai golf industry.
Including she also revealed that Lydia Ko, the world’s number one female golfer who has joined the group, told her that the response in Thailand was even more lively than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Which is probably the main reason Pro China is one of the golfers we see signing autographs for all golf fans who wait for her after the tournament every day. Today is a sign indicating that Thai golf is not lost to any nation in the world. And its popularity continues to grow.
and the rise of Pro SIM Her childhood best friend Is to emphasize the continuity of developing Thailand’s world-class athletes into the LPGA Tour
What follows is Prosim’s long journey as an LPGA Tour Rookie, and we can only ask Prosim to maintain that confidence. And aiming for the next championship goal this season
The last seconds after the race before the pro-sim walks off the field So we walked in and told the pro sim for a short time that
“Come back to fight again, Pro SIM”