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[이데일리 스타in 주영로 기자] 22-year-old Patty Tawatananap (Thailand) announced the birth of a star by conquering the ANA Inspiration (total prize money of $3.1 million) at the LPGA Tour Major Tournament.
On the last day of the tournament held at the Mission Hills Country Club Dyna Shore Tournament Course (par 72) in Rancho Mirage, California, USA on the 5th (Korean time), Tawatana tied 1 Eagle and 2 birdies to 4 under par 68 strokes. Hit. Tawatana, who recorded a final total of 18 under par and 270 shots, defeated Lydia Go (New Zealand, 16 under par 272 shots), who had been pursuing fiercely, by two shots, reducing 10 hits on this day alone.
Tawatanain, who won his first professional championship as a major tournament, became a player who won the ANA Inspiration as a rookie after 37 years after Julie Inster (USA) in 1984. In addition, he maintained the lead for four days and won the’Wire to Wire’ championship without a joint lead in 21 years after Kari Webb (Australia) in 2000, and became the 14th player to win a major tournament as a rookie. Tawatanap was the 6th time to win the first professional win in ANA Inspiration.
Tawatanap’s victory could pose a big threat to our players in the future. The world rankings 1st~3rd place Ko Jin-young (26), Park In-bi (31), and Kim Se-young (28) all came out. In terms of skill and experience, it was less than one number, but Tawatana became a major queen with his thick guts and unprecedented skills to play unprecedented matches even on the last day when the burden of winning the championship was great.
Technically, the strong weapon of long hitting and the stage of growth from now on are the biggest competitiveness of Tawatanap.
Tawatan is a rare female player who has a long hitting power that hits an average of 300 yards or more for drive shots, and has even skills such as elaborate iron shots and putts.
In this tournament, he showed an unbelievable long hit with an average of 323 yards for a drive shot over the course of four days, and the sophistication pointed out as a weakness of long hitters was an exception to Tawatananap. It wasn’t just luck to hit a fairway hit rate of 66% and a green hit rate of over 83% over four days on the major tournament course, which is more difficult than regular tournaments. Putt also showed off a clean finish ability by writing down an average of 29 rounds. He was a player with another strength and strengths who have conquered the LPGA tour so far.
The emergence of Tawatananip is also a signal to announce that Thai women’s golf is gradually taking their place as Korean women’s golf. Thailand is growing as a golf powerhouse that succeeds Korea. The world’s No. 1 player Eriya Chutanukan, who won 10 wins on the LPGA Tour, as well as her older sister Moriya Chutanukan, Jasmine Suvarnaphra, and Ponanong Patrum, are the representatives of the Thai women’s golf that have reported winning.
Here, Thai natives, former amateur ranking No. 1 Atya Titikul, are preparing to advance to the LPGA tour. It seems to be seeing Serikiz (players born in 1988 and later) that have been sweeping the LPGA tour since the late 2000s, with abundant resources and continuing production of top-notch players.
Tawatananap is not a surprise star who came out overnight. He was a promising player who had already improved his skills since he was a junior. When I was at UCLA in the U.S., I had a strong ability to raise the championship trophy seven times in two years and climbed to the second place in the amateur world rankings. He debuted as a pro in 2019 and won the Symmetra Tour three times, which is the second division.
The LPGA tour took the lead until the third round, and through the website, “The stage is ready for Tawatana.” “If you pass the pressure test in the final round, you will see a page of the history of Tawatana. I expected to decorate it.” “To those who know her, this kind of performance is not surprising at all, but unfortunately, there are not many players who know him.” He announced that his performance was already predicted.
“In Thailand, women’s golf has developed very much like Korea, and there are many players who have become pros through the national team,” said Sang-won Ko, the international manager of the Korea Golf Association, who leads the national team and participates in international competitions. Sister Chutanukan is a representative player.” “Currently, many Asian players such as Korea and Thailand occupy the top of the LPGA Tour, and Tawatanap is one of them. . In the future, more Asian players, including Thailand, will compete with Korean players as they travel on the LPGA tour stage.”
It was Hana Financial Group that first recognized the potential of Tawatananap. Hana Financial Group, which sponsors the Asian hub and globalization of the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) tour, signed a sponsorship contract with Tawatananap last year and recruited them as a member.
Hana Financial Group team leader Paul Park said, “Since I was an amateur, I was a player with great potential. I did not show much prominence when I debuted as a pro last year, but there is a high possibility that I will grow into a player that is second to that of Chutanukan.”
“I didn’t sleep well last night, but I meditated twice this morning and tried not to be impatient, and I didn’t even see the leaderboard during the game,” said Tawatana. “I am madly happy to be a major champion in the rookie season.” Revealed.
Lydia Go, who entered the final round with a tie for sixth place, 8 strokes behind the lead, unfortunately failed to reverse the game by tying 1 Eagle and 8 birdies together to reduce 10 strokes.
Kim Se-young (28) hit a total of 11 under par 277, tied for 3rd place with Nelly Coda (USA) and Fengshan Mountain (China), and ranked No. 1 in the world, Ko Jin-young (26) and Park In-bi (31), 10 under par 278 strokes side by side. Ended the competition in a tie for 7th place. Lee Mi-rim (31), who started defending the title, scored a total of 9 under par 279, and tied for ninth.
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