Home Hopes Rise at Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific

Pattaya, Thailand: Natthakritta Vongtaveelap and her close friend Suvichaya Vinijchaitham will carry the hopes of host nation Thailand into the final round of the fourth Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship.

Natthakritta (68) birdied the last two holes and finished on an eight-under total of 208, where she was joined by Suvichaya (69), Chinese Taipei’s Huang Ting-hsuan (70) and Korean Lim Ji-yoo (72) at the top of the leaderboard to set up an exciting final round at Siam Country Club’s Waterside Course.

Rianne Mikhaela Malixi (70) of the Philippines is in fifth place at seven-under, while Korean Park Ye-ji, who had the best round of the day with a five-under 67, jumped to tied sixth place at 211, alongside Japan’s Mamika Shinchi and Australian Kelsey Bennett (72).

Defending champion Mizuki Hashimoto’s chances of winning a second straight WAAP title were dented over the back nine. Two ahead of the field after 12 holes, the Japanese World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) number 16 dropped six shots in her last six holes.

A five-over 77 dropped her to tied ninth place at four-under but a chip in for bogey from the back of the 18th green kept her in contention.

The 19-year-old Natthakritta, who bogeyed the first but then made six birdies and another bogey, is eager to make up for her missed opportunity last year in Abu Dhabi, where an untidy back nine in the final round left her tied second.

“I was so nervous at the start today. On the first hole, from 45 yards, my hands shook as I hit a pretty simple chip shot. My caddie had to calm me down after that,” said Natthakritta, who turns 20 next Wednesday and is the highest-ranked Thai player in the field at 38.

She added: “I really want to win tomorrow. It would mean a lot for me, especially as the tournament is being played in my home country. I thought a lot about my Abu Dhabi finish and one of the things I can surely change is how I fuel myself. I did not have proper energy towards the end last year and dropped shots coming in. I want to make sure I eat well and hydrate myself properly tomorrow.

“It will be so much fun playing with Suvichaya, who has become a very close friend of mine in the past two years that we have been in the Thai national team together.”

Suvichaya, 16, who has home schooling so that she can get more time to practise her golf, made four birdies and a solitary bogey in her 69. She said: “I am so proud of what I have done so far. I honestly came into the tournament thinking that making the cut would be a great achievement so it is a surprise that I find myself leading.

“I was struggling with a few injuries and haven’t really played any good golf in the last two years. But I have continued to work hard and I could feel my game coming back towards the end of last year.”

Huang, also 16, took the lead when she chipped-in for a birdie on the par-three 12th hole, but a bogey on the 14th saw her slip back to eight-under.

“I really want to have that chance,” said Huang when reminded that she could get into the AIG Women’s Open and the Amundi Evian Championship with a win tomorrow. “I just need to keep playing my game and be aggressive.”

Lim could not find a birdie on the first seven holes and then dropped shots on the par-five eighth, where she pushed her second shot from centre of the fairway into the water, and another on the ninth hole.

But she bounced back with two birdies on the back nine and said: “I am happy that on the second nine both my driver and putter were much better compared to the first nine. That’s a good sign. There were many opportunities to make birdies on the back nine but I’m satisfied with the way I bounced back after the front nine.”

Saki Baba, the highest-ranked player in the field at number three in the WAGR, made one birdie and two bogeys in a round of 73 and dropped down to tied 25th place at even-par.

The WAAP has been developed by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) to inspire future generations of women golfers and provides the champion with an unparalleled launchpad early in their career through exemptions into multiple women’s major championships and other elite amateur championships.

The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship is proudly supported by Rolex, Nippon Kabaya Ohayo Holdings, Trust Golf, Hana Financial Group and Samsung.

For more information, please visit the championship website at www.randa.org/WAAP