Thailand’s monster long hitter Tabatanakit leads ANA 5 strokes

Patty Tabatanakit (21, Thailand) hit a 5 under par 67 in the 3rd round of the ANA Inspiration on the American Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour held at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, USA on the 4th (Korean time). Tabatanakit, the leader of the 14-under-par in the middle, increased the difference in at-bats from 1 to 5.

If Tabatanakit, who took the lead from day one, wins, he becomes the first ANA rookie champion since Julie Inster in 1984. The 14-under par is the lowest tie record for ANA Inspiration’s 54 holes. Tabatanakit challenges Dotty Pepper’s 1999 record for the lowest hit (19 under par).

Tabatanakit’s long hit shined. The first hole drive shot was 33 yards longer than his companion, Feng Shan Shan, and got a birdie. Even in the par 5’s second hole, I caught an easy birdie by making 2 ons with an iron. His tee shot was 363 yards on the par 5, 11th hole. It was a little downhill and the fairway was hard, so there were many runs, but that’s an impressive number. Tabatanakit grabbed the 7 iron on his second shot.

His average drive shot that day was 348 yards and 339 yards in the second round. In the first round, Tabatanakit had 2 ons in both par 5 holes. Three of them were put on the green with an iron.

In shot distance, Tabatanakit appears to be similar or slightly ahead of the existing LPGA tour long hitters Bianca Pagdanganan (24, Philippines), Ann Van Dam (26, Netherlands) and Maria Passy (23, Mexico). However, the accuracy is very good. The fairway hit rate (62% in this tournament) is high for a long hitter. It doesn’t even go far off the fairway. The sense of short game is also very soft.

Tabatanakit started playing golf at the age of 8 and decided to become a golf player after seeing Tiger Woods win in 2007. After studying abroad in the US, I went to UCLA for two years and dropped out to become a professional. Currently, it is sponsored by Hana Bank. He won 3 victories in the second part of the 2019 tour. That year, he was invited to the Thornbury Classic on the LPGA Tour and hit an 11-under-par 61 in one round.

I was on the first tour last year, but my grades were not good. It was only once in the top 10 and was dropped seven times. However, the season was shortened due to the coronavirus last season, and this year, he was recognized as a rookie and was able to participate in the competition.

Last year’s winners, Lee Mi-rim and Ali U-wing (USA), are second in the 9-under par. Lee Mi-rim made three consecutive birdies twice. However, two bogies came out, and he missed a short putt in the last hole, so he only cut four. Charlie Hull and Feng Shan Shan are in third place at the 8-under par. Park In-bi reduced two strokes to a tie for fifth place at a 7-under par.

Ko Jin-young is a tie for 7th at the 6-under par, and Kim Se-young is a tie for 5th under par at 11th.

If Park In-bi wins, she will be ranked first in the world rankings. Even if Park In-bi is in second place alone and Ko Jin-young falls below 10th place alone, In-bi Park will be ranked first in the world.

Hojun Sung Golf Reporter
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