Womens Amateur Asia-Pacific

Thai hopes at Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific

The R&A

01 Nov 22

3 mins

It’s a dream championship to compete in for Thailand’s finest amateurs, and they are intent on making it count as the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship (WAAP) is played in their own country this week.

As many as ten players from Thailand will be seen in action at the Siam Country Club in Pattaya, led by the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR) number 36, the long-hitting Natthakritta Vongtaveelap. They will try and follow in the footsteps of Atthaya Thitikul, who won the inaugural WAAP in Singapore in 2018, and continues to provide motivation to her compatriots by becoming the world number one this week by topping the Rolex World Golf Rankings. On offer is one of the most coveted prizes in amateur golf – places in two major championships. The champion will earn starts in the AIG Women’s Open, the Amundi Evian Championship as well as the Hana Financial Group Championship and an invitation to play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA). Apart from Vongtaveelap, making up the Thailand squad in the championship are Rina Tatematsu, Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, Eila Galitsky, Pimpisa Rubrong, Navaporn Soontreeyapas, Suvichaya Vinijchaitham, Achiraya Sriwong, Chananyu Chowiwattana and Pusanisa Ekkantrong, who is a Siam Country Club member.

Pride in representing Thailand

Tatematsu, who is a sophomore at Oklahoma State University (OSU) and an integral part of the Cowgirls team, said: “I’m super proud to be representing Thailand, and it’s always nice being back home in Thailand to play this event here this year. This is my third time playing WAAP and I always gain so much experience and make new friends every year. I just want to enjoy every second of it and have a lot of fun.” Another player looking to make her mark on the championship is Jeeravivitaporn, who turns 23 later this month and is also based in the US where she is a senior at Iowa State. She has shown good form this season and also happens to be a past champion at Siam Country Club winning the Truition International in 2016. “That win seems so long ago that I don’t even happen which year it happened!” said Jeeravivitaporn, who won the prestigious Western Am title this year and qualified for the US Women’s Amateurs. “This is my first time here playing the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific. I’m really excited to play this in front of my friends and family in Thailand. I’ve heard from the girls it’s a really good tournament, so I’d like to do my best.”

Natthakritta Vongtaveelap is the highest ranked Thai player in the field and will be hoping to go one better than her second place finish last year in Abu Dhabi.

WAAP Debut

Ekkantrong is making her WAAP debut and hoping local knowledge would help her put together a good show this week. “It’s my first time and I am so glad to be representing Thailand. It’s good to be playing at my home course and I will play as best as I can,” said the 16-year-old, who won the Junior Golf Tour title in Bangkok earlier this year. “I was here last week, and the course and the wind, the weather is very different from what it was today. The wind is so strong and the greens have a lot of slope, and the weather is very hot, and those are going to be some of the challenges that the players are going to face.”

Thitikul inspiration this week

A lot of attention on the golf course was centred around Thitikul’s ascent to world number one in the professional ranks, and even for junior players like Rubrong, who has never met the inaugural WAAP champion, it is a matter of great pride and motivation. “I don’t know her, but of course I’ve heard about her. I know she is the number one in the world and I am so proud of her,” said Rubrong, who recently finished second in the Thailand Ladies Amateur Open. Saki Baba, Japan’s US Amateur Championship winner and the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR) number four, is the highest-ranked player in the field this week, followed by her compatriot Yuna Araki at number 12. Korea’s Jiyoo Lim is the highest-ranked non-Japanese player at number 14.

About WAAP

The WAAP has been developed by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) to inspire future generations of women golfers and provides the champion with an unparalleled launchpad early in their career through exemptions into multiple women’s major championships and other elite amateur championships. The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship is proudly supported by Rolex, Nippon Kabaya Ohayo Holdings, Trust Golf, Hana Financial Group and Samsung.