Rookie Tavatanakit sets sights on grand slam after first major
“Hit big, think big”. That is clearly the mantra of Patty Tavatanakit, the new sensation of women’s golf, who eclipsed all manner of records in posting an average driver distance of 323 yards on her way to glory at the ANA Inspiration.
The 21-year-old Thai became the first rookie to win the Palm Springs major since Juli Inkster in 1984. Inkster is a seven-time major champion and that is illustrious company for a young player. Yet Tavatanakit wants to better Inkster and become just the second player after Karrie Webb to win all five majors.
“It means the world to actually win an LPGA Tour event to begin with, and on top of it, doing it at a major, it’s been surreal,” Tavatanakit said. “I always wanted to win a major and my goal for my career is to get a grand slam – and I’ve got one checked out. I’m a major champion in my rookie year. Just crazy.”
At 5ft 5in, Tavatanakit is just one of several females who regularly break the 300-yard mark, a milestone that not too long ago seemed an impossibility. She is actually only second in the LPGA distance charts behind Filipino Bianca Pagdanganan, with American Angel Yin and Holland’s Anne van Dam also vying for eye-straining honours.
But where Tavatanakit, a brilliant US college amateur, appears to differ is that she boasts the consummate control to match the staggering swing speed. “The only
caveat is, can she always use that power from the fairway?” Judy Rankin, the former player of the year turned celebrated TV analyst, said. “If she can then it’ll be pretty hard to beat somebody like that.”
What made it all the more impressive was the cool manner in which the Bangkok boomer held off Lydia Ko, despite the resurgent 23-yearold compiling one of the great Sunday rounds. Ko equalled the course-record 62, featuring a 29 on the front nine.
However the New Zealander could not get any nearer than two shots to the champion, who earned £335,000 having been ranked 103rd before the tournament. Nevertheless, it shows that Ko – who became world No1 as a 17-year-old but who is without a win in three years – is on her way back. Not that she wants the hype to ramp up.
“I was actually thinking in my head, I wonder if on the coverage they’re going to be saying, ‘Lydia Ko is back’,” she said.
“I hope it’s not the sense that I’m back to a position where I was or where I could be. To be honest, I just want to be the best version of myself right now. I’ve had so many ups and downs since I was No1, I’m not going to be the same person.”