New world No.1 Ariya sets her sights on staying top of the pile
Thai star vows to work harder to keep top spot
Ariya Jutanugarn has vowed to work harder for more success after taking over the top spot in the world rankings.
The Bangkok native moved up from No.2 to No.1 after winning the Manulife LPGA Classic in Canada on Sunday.
Ariya defeated American Lexi Thompson and South Korea’s Chun In-Gee in a three-way play-off with a 30-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.
With the triumph, Ariya dethroned New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who had held the position for 85 consecutive weeks.
At 21 years, six months and 20 days old, Ariya becomes the second youngest player in LPGA history and the third youngest player, male or female, to reach No.1 in the history of professional golf.
She is the first golfer from Thailand, male or female, to earn the title of world No.1.
“It means the world to me,” Ariya told www.lpga.com.
“We get to show the world that Thai people can do it. It’s been a long road getting to this spot, but it will be even more challenging from this point on.
“The ranking can change any week, and I will just keep working very hard every single day. I don’t see this as a mission complete, but it’s just the beginning. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone. My family, my coaches, my team, my sponsors and all the Thai fans.”
Ariya made 95 career LPGA starts before ascending to No.1 in the world rankings, earning six wins and 30 additional top-10 finishes.
Prior to this week, Ariya spent 38 weeks as the No.2 player in the world. She is the 10th different golfer to be No.1 since the world rankings started in 2006.
Ariya had a breakthrough year in 2016. She began the year ranked No.62 in the world before leading the LPGA with five wins, including her first major championship at the Women’s British Open, en route to becoming the second player to win the LPGA player of the year award, Race to the CME Globe and money title in the same season after Ko achieved the feat in 2015.
Ariya, who goes by the nickname May, started her victory run in May 2016.
With her win at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, she became the first player from Thailand to win on the LPGA Tour.
She then won the next two events and became the first player in LPGA tour history to have the first three wins of her career come in consecutive tournaments.
The newly crowned top-ranked player in women’s golf has nine top-10 finishes in 13 starts this season, including three runner-ups and her win on Sunday.
Thanks to her victory, she is now leader on the 2017 money list with US$954,279.
She will make her first appearance as the No.1 player at this week’s Meijer LPGA Classic.
Ariya first showed an interest in golf at the age of five when her father Somboon opened a pro shop at a Bangkok driving range.
Worried she might distract customers, Ariya’s father and mother Narumon gave her some clubs to play with.
From then on both she and her older sister Moriya, also an LPGA Tour member, were hooked.
As they progressed through their teens the family sold their house and car to raise enough funds to support them.
It was a gamble that paid off. Ariya has won some $3.9 million in career earnings while her sister has racked up $1.6 million.