Jakarta, Indonesia: Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul underlined her standing as one of the world’s finest female golfers with a runaway seven-stroke victory in the Simone Asia-Pacific Cup.
Winner of the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) in 2018, Atthaya is currently ninth in the Rolex Women’s World Ranking.
Living up to her lofty status, Atthaya left her rivals trailing distantly in her wake at the Pondok Indah Golf Course. With rounds of 68, 65 and a closing 69, Atthaya posted a 54-hole total of 14-under-par 202. For good measure, she joined forces with Jaravee Boonchant to win the team event which ran concurrently.
Individually, Lee Da-yeon claimed second place on 209 with fellow-Korean Kim Min-byeol two shots further back in third.
Four of the region’s leading amateurs enhanced their reputations.
Reigning WAAP champion Eila Galitsky of Thailand shared fourth place on four-under 212 with Korean amateurs Kim Min-sol and Lee Hyo-song. Galitsky is 45th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).
Min-sol and Hyo-song also have had a memorable year.
Min-sol finished runner-up at the WAAP, led Korea to victory at the Queen Sirikit Cup and represented the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) in August’s Solheim Cup-style Patsy Hankins Trophy against the European Golf Association in Spain. She is third in the WAGR.
For Hyo-song, 54th in the WAGR, her highlights this year include a joint third place finish at the WAAP and winning the Korean Women’s Amateur.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Arianna Lau was joint seventh in Jakarta on 213. Winner of this year’s APGC Junior Championship and the FCG Collegiate Series at Twin Oaks in America, Lau is 127th in the WAGR.
For Atthaya, twice a runner-up on the LPGA Tour this season, a maiden Ladies Asian Tour Series win ensured that she did not finish 2023 without a win.
Making her Indonesian visit even sweeter was the fact that she also lifted the team title with Jaravee.
Jaravee closed with her best performance of the week, a 70 to finish tied for 13th individually, but it was sufficient to help Team Thailand 2 dethrone Korea from their team crown with an aggregate of 15-under 417.
Two Korean combinations shared second place on 424 – the amateur duo of Kim Min-sol and Lee Hyo-song (Team Korea 5) and Hwang You-min and Kim Min-byeol (Team Korea 4).
Atthaya, who collected US$110,000 for her individual success and a half-share of the US$24,000 with Jaravee for the team triumph, said: “It’s really special. My whole team and I have been waiting for this moment for a while.
“This year, we had a really good year. We came close to a win but didn’t get the job done. So, to be able to end my 2023 season with a win here makes it even more special.
“Every tournament I play is equally important as the LPGA Tour. They all hold meaning in relation to the hard work I put in, whether it works out or not.
“This event, I didn't expect to get the win because we just had some rest, and it had been some time since I last touched a golf club. I’ve only been practising for two weeks before coming here.”
It was also a day to savour for Chinese Taipei’s Hou Yu-sang. She achieved the first hole-in-one of her career on the par-three 12th and was rewarded with a new Hyundai Stargazer X. The ace propelled Hou into a tie-for-seventh on 213.