Pondok Indah Date for Thai Atthaya

Jakarta, Indonesia: World number nine Atthaya Thitikul will lend her star power to the second edition of the Simone Asia Pacific Cup.

Winner of the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) in 2018, the 20-year-old Thai has become a leading light on the LPGA Tour and enjoyed a brief spell as number one in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings late last year.

Hosted by the Asian Golf Leaders Forum (AGLF) and staged at Jakarta’s Pondok Indah Golf Course from December 21-23, the Simone Asia Pacific Cup offers a prize purse of US$750,000.

Atthaya ranks highest among the players in the 58-strong field which also includes Princess Mary Superal of the Philippines, who returns to defend her individual title.

As well as competing for individual glory, contestants will also vie for national pride in the team event, with the Simone Asia Pacific Cup bringing together 29 teams from 13 APAC golf associations, including formidable contenders such as Korea, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.

The tournament employs a 54-hole stroke play format, with US$500,000 allocated for the individual contest and an additional US$250,000 up for grabs in the team competition.

At the Simone Asia Pacific Cup, Atthaya will join forces with Jaravee Boonchant, while Chanettee Wannasaen, who won the Portland Classic as a Monday qualifier in September, will team up with Hanoi Southeast Asian Games double gold medallist Natthakritta Vongtaveelap, a two-time former WAAP runner-up. 

Meanwhile, Superal will be on a dual mission for Team Philippines – not only to defend her individual crown but also to vie for team honours once again, following last year's second-place finish with Pauline Del Rosario.

Teaming up with Superal this year is LPGA Tour regular Bianca Pagdaganan, for whom Pondok Indah holds special significance. It was at the Jakarta venue where she contributed to the Philippines' team gold and secured an individual bronze during the 2018 Asian Games.

Although Lee So-yeon and Lee Bo-mee are unable to return to defend the team title they won last year, a strong Korean contingent is led by six-time KLPGA Tour winner Lee So-young, KLPGA Tour Rookie of the Year Hwang You-min, Lee Da-yeon and Kim Min-byeol, all of whom feature in the top-80 in the Rolex Rankings.

Japan will be represented by world number 18 Nasa Hataoka, while Chinese Taipei is represented by sisters Vivian Hou and Hou Yu-sang and Tsai Pei-ying and Chien Pei-yun.

AGLF Secretary General Paul Park said: “The event will bring together some of the world’s most promising young golfers from each Asia-Pacific country. We’re excited to see them on one field.”

The AGLF was launched in 2020 with the vision of developing women's golf in the Asia-Pacific region. It is comprised of 14 national governing bodies (KGA and KLPGA in Korea) from 13 countries and territories – Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Park said: “Last year was all about firsts. We worked hard to establish our organisation and build relationships between 14 golf federations in 13 countries. This year, in our second year, the communication has been seamless, and we have been able to gather a lot of great players from all over the world.

“It’s great to see the future of women’s golf in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand, coming together in one place.”