Eagle Finish Sees Natthakritta Soar in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Thai Natthakritta Vongtaveelap stormed to a three-shot lead after the third round of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship following a sensational birdie-eagle finish on Friday.

At Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s National Course, the Bangkok-based 19-year-old was temporarily joined at the top of the leaderboard by Mizuki Hashimoto (68) when the Japanese player holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole.

Unfazed, Natthakritta hit the accelerator with a dramatic climax to her round. Known for her long drives, she struck a perfect tee shot at the 17th and then snuggled a short-iron to two feet for birdie.

On the par-five 18th, another excellent tee shot put her in perfect position to launch an 18-degree hybrid to within four feet of the cup. She duly rolled in the eagle putt for a five-under 67.

With a 54-hole total of 15-under-par 201, Natthakritta holds a clear lead from second-placed Hashimoto (204).

Australian Kelsey Bennett (69) looked to be making a move with three consecutive birdies from the sixth but she frustratingly finished with 10 straight pars to sit at 11-under in third place.

Malaysian Ashley Lau and Australian Cassie Porter both fired 68s to be tied fourth at 10-under-par. Japan’s Nanako Inagaki (67), Indian Anika Varma (70) and Thai Kan Bunnabodee (68), who matched the championship record round of 64 on Thursday, have a share of sixth place at nine-under 207.

“I am so happy and excited about the finish. It was perfect. The last seven shots were exactly how I wanted to hit them,” said Natthakritta, who has 19 wins and eight runner-up finishes to her name in domestic events in the last two-year cycle of World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) events.

“I’ve come here thinking I want to win the championship. So this is a good way to go into the final round. But I know I need to play well as there are many good players in the field,” she added.

Following a bogey at the second hole in the opening round, Natthakritta has not dropped any shots in the last 52 holes of the championship.

Hashimoto, the 19-year-old WAGR number 121 from Hyogo, signed for a third straight 68. She made four birdies on the front nine, while a birdie on the 16th made up for a bogey at the 11th.

“I had great start today. When I made a bogey on the 11th, I got a bit nervous but I did not play too badly,” said Hashimoto. “Tomorrow is another day. I will go out and try my best.”

The 22-year-old Bennett was frustrated not to capitalise on her early momentum as her putter went cold.

“It was frustrating. I had a lot of opportunities and just could not get them to drop today. I had three birdies in a row and that was it. At least par trends aren’t too bad. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the day,” said the WAGR number 209 from Mollymook, New South Wales.

Cheered on by her teammates, Indian Natalii Gupta, a nominated player of the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) and the only local to make the cut, added a second straight three-under 69 round to improve to tied 16th place at four-under 212.

The 17-year-old, born and brought up in the UAE, was one-over at the turn but made a birdie on the 10th hole and then closed with three straight birdies.

“It’s pretty cool. I’ve never had people watch me before and for them to be supporting me this week, it’s just wonderful,” said Gupta.

“I could have started better, but it was a good finish. I got to make some birdies towards the end. I was struggling with the putter a bit on the front. Then I just trusted my stroke towards the end and that got me going.”

This is the third edition of the championship that is organised by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. The championship was won in its inaugural year by Thai Atthaya Thitikul, who has graduated to become the number one player on the Ladies European Tour this season, and by Japan’s Yuka Yasuda in 2019.