Kotchasanmanee in Lpga-partnered event
Fresh off a second straight GHSA state championship a couple weeks ago, Darlington’s Ther Kotchasanmanee is testing her skills against some of the best junior and professional golfers in the world this weekend.
Kotchasanmanee received the rare invitation along with 23 other top junior golfers in the world to compete in the inaugural Mizuho Americas Open, which began Thursday at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey.
A partnered event between the American Junior Golf Association and LPGA, it gives junior
golfers the chance to compete alongside a 120-player field consisting of LPGA professionals.
The format is a showcase of the current stars competing with possible future LPGA players and is a 72-hole event using the Stableford scoring system.
Junior players were invited through the Rolex AJGA rankings and will represent nine different states and two other countries (Canada and the Philippines). There will be 20 Rolex Junior All-americans competing, as well as 24 former AJGA champions. Seven players are verbally committed to play college golf, and seven others have already signed their letter of intent.
Darlington alum Kiira Riihijarvi,
who graduated in 2016, will also be competing in the tournament as an LPGA pro.
The tournament will be televised on the Golf Channel, with coverage continuing from 11 a.m.2 p.m. Friday, 5-8 p.m. Saturday and 4:30-7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Kotchasanmanee recently won her second straight state title by shooting a two-day 148 to claim the Class A Division I crown at Arrowhead Point Golf Club in Elberton. The sophomore’s efforts also helped Darlington earn the team state championship and followed the 2022 season, in which she won the Class A Private individual state title.