Rising stars ready to roll at Thai Championship in Pattaya
Kanyalak, Atthaya spearhead Thai bid
PATTAYA: Rising stars Esther Henseleit, Julia Engstrom, Kanyalak Preedasuttijit, Chonlada Chayanun, Atthaya Thitikul and Yoo Hyun-Ju are hoping to make the most of a major opportunity in the Ladies European Thailand Championship this week.
The tournament at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club starts tomorrow and offers a total purse of €300,000 (approximately 11 million baht).
Apart from a cheque of €45,000, the winner will also qualify for two major tournaments — the Evian Championship next month and the Women’s British Open in August.
The top-five players on the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit after Sunday’s final round will qualify for the Evian and the leading three LET members in the Ladies European Thailand Championship, not otherwise exempt, will earn tickets to the Women’s British Open.
The Thai contingent is hoping to keep the trophy on home soil after the first two editions of the event were won by local stars Atthaya in 2017 and Kanyalak in 2018.
Teenage amateur Atthaya lifted the trophy in 2017 and became the youngest ever winner in a professional golf tournament at the age of 14 years, four months and 19 days.
This year’s participants include popular players like Scotland’s Carly Booth, who has 149,000 followers on Instagram, and South Korea’s Yoo with 142,000 followers.
LET third-ranked Henseleit, who claimed her maiden win on the LET Access Series on Saturday, is in Thailand for the first time but is ready to challenge following six top-10 finishes, including two second places at the Dubai Moonlight Classic and La Reserva de Sotogrande Invitational, in her first season as a professional.
The 20-year-old German said: “Winning is a great experience. I have taken a lot of confidence from it and I hope I can do well here. It is important for me to stay in the top five of the Order of Merit so that I into the Evian Championship. If I play well this week then I will achieve that. Winning back-to-back titles would be amazing and I am going to try and do it.”
Engstrom is another young star hoping to make the most of this week’s opportunity.
The 18-year-old from Sweden has just completed her high school exams, which will allow her to focus on her golf fully for the first time.
She finished tied for 15th in Pattaya last year on her way to becoming the 2018 LET rookie of the year.
The Swede said: “I am excited to be back. It is a great course and an amazing place to be at. I am looking forward to the week.
“I would like to finish in the top 10. The goal when you go into a tournament is always to win but I would be happy with a top 10.”