Thai Teen Atthaya Conquering Europe

Holzhäusern, Switzerland: There’s simply no stopping Thai teenager Atthaya Thitikul. On the back of her second title of the 2021 Ladies European Tour (LET) season, the 18-year-old has soared into the top-30 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.

Thanks to her triumph in the VP Bank Swiss Ladies at Golfpark Holzhäusern, Atthaya continued her remarkable rise to prominence.

Only twice from 13 starts this season has Atthaya finished outside the top-10 in LET events. That consistency has seen the 2021 Race to Costa del Sol leader cement her status as one of the world’s best.

From 308th in the Rolex Ranking at the start of the year, Atthaya now finds herself in 28th spot and third among Thais with only Patty Tavatanakit (12th) and Ariya Jutanugarn (20th) ahead of her.

Four strokes off the pace heading into the final round in Switzerland, Atthaya raced out of the blocks with four birdies on the front nine propelling her to the top of the leaderboard.

After 15 holes, the Thai shared the lead with Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord. With back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 it was Atthaya who forged clear, setting the clubhouse target at 16-under-par.

It proved good enough for her fourth LET title. 

"I hit pretty good shots and gave myself a lot of chances to make birdies," said Atthaya, winner of the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in 2018.

“I worked really hard last year with my coach, and I think all the results tell me that I’m working in a good way, and it is paying off. I’m so happy to get another win,” she added.

At July’s Aramco Team Series – London, Skarpnord beat Atthaya in a play-off at Centurion Club. But this time the Thai emerged on top, earning rich praise from her rival.

Skarpnord, a five-time LET winner, said: “I felt I played pretty good, but I was playing with a player who just doesn’t make any mistakes. Obviously, I would like to win but I’m happy to see Atthaya win. She deserves it. She is so good.”