There’s a pair of Thai players on top of the leaderboard in Thailand. One of them has been No. 1 in the world. The other is leading by four while playing on a sponsor exemption.
Twenty-year-old Natthakritta Vongtaveelap shot 8-under 64 on Saturday to increase her lead to four shots over reigning LPGA rookie of the year Atthaya Thitikul with 18 holes to play at the Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club. Vongtaveelap, who got into the field after winning a national qualifier earlier this year, is one round away from a life-changing victory in her first LPGA start.
“Really good today,” she said of Saturday’s round. “Perfect.”
Vongtaveelap turned professional last November after advancing through the first two stages of LPGA Q-School. She earned LPGA membership for 2023 after finishing in a tie for 28th at LPGA Q-Series.
Her third round started with an eagle and she closed with three consecutive birdies. Vongtaveelap has only two bogeys on the week. She said the Thai crowds have been extremely supportive.
“I try to be myself, be with the game, and I think I can make it,” she said.
Thitikul matched Vontaveelap with a round of 64. Celine Boutier is in third at 15 under. World No. 1 Lydia Ko and No. 2 Nelly Korda are at 13 under and T-7.
Without further ado, the 2022 Golfweek Award winner for Best Female Player of the Year goes to …
Heading into the 2022 season, fans were eager to see Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko build upon the rivalry that emerged in 2021. While health issues for both players kept that from materializing, a host of new winners kept the season fresh, as 11 players broke through to win for the first time.
Chief among those was Atthaya Thitikul, the rookie who rose to No. 1 in the world.
When it came to who had the best season in golf, however, the discussion at the table among staff was fairly short. It wasn’t a new face who impressed the most, but rather one who hadn’t been in such a position in a long, long time.
Without further ado, the 2022 Golfweek Award winner for Best Female Player of the Year goes to …
Don’t be surprised if a handful of rising stars step into the spotlight in 2023.
Three of the four major champions on the men’s side in 2022 were first-time winners. As for the women? Two of five.
That got us thinking, who is most likely to add a major championship to their resumes for the first time in 2023? Several writers on Golfweek‘s staff have made their picks, some surprising, some not so much.
Men’s 2023 major venues: Augusta National Golf Club (Masters), Oak Hill Country Club (PGA Championship), Los Angeles Country Club (U.S. Open) and Royal Liverpool (Open Championship).
Women’s 2023 major venues: The Club at Carlton Woods (Chevron Championship), Baltusrol (KPMG PGA Championship), Pebble Beach Golf Links (U.S. Women’s Open), Evian Resort Golf Club (Evian Championship) and Walton Heath Golf Club (AIG Women’s Open).
The two-time winner of the event is in prime position heading to the weekend.
Momoko Ueda is accustomed to having success at the Toto Japan Classic.
She won the event in 2007 and again in 2011. A day after saying the golf course setup made her uncomfortable, she is the 36-hole leader for the LPGA’s event in Japan at 10-under 134, one of five Japanese players at the top of the leaderboard following the second round at Seta Golf Course.
Yet even after playing well enough to hold the lead, Ueda said it took her time to settle into the round.
“I was not in a good mood in the first 5 holes,” Ueda said. “During that time, Ai (Suzuki) and Sakura (Koiwai) made good putts and played well. So, I tried to catch up with them and not to think conservatively.”
Ueda recorded five straight pars to begin before a birdie on the sixth. A bogey on her ninth hole led to an even-par front nine, but her scorecard was colorful on the back nine. She had four birdies on Nos. 10, 13, 14 and 17 with one bogey to shoot 3-under 69 in the second round.
Miyu Yamashita and Suzuki are tied for second at 9 under. Suzuki was tied with Ueda for the lead after the first round but is hoping for more on the weekend after a 2-under performance on Friday.
“Hope today is the worst day of this week,” Suzuki said. “I need 60’s for the next 2 days.”
New world No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul sits tied for eighth at 6 under after a 5-under 67 on Friday.
“I had a really good round today,” Thitikul said. “A lot better than yesterday. But I think I have more to practice with my tee shot and driver because I don’t think it’s good enough for these narrow fairways.”
Winning the tournament again in 2019, Thitikul turned professional at the start of 2020. After a forced break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thitikul broke through with her first pro win at the Thai LPGA Championship.
Thitikul began playing regularly on the European Tour in 2021 and yet again made an impact. A win at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open would be her third European Tour title, but first as a professional.
With European Merit of Order and Rookie of the Year honors in tote, Thitikul qualified for the LPGA with a third place finish at Q-School.
Making her debut on the LPGA Tour in March of 2022, Thitikul did not have to wait too long for her first LPGA win.
Japanese players pack the top of the leaderboard after the first round in Japan.
Ai Suzuki won the last co-sanctioned edition of the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic in 2019 but did not take LPGA membership. This week, she co-leads with compatriot Momoko Ueda after an opening 7-under 65. Ueda won this event in 2007 and 2011. Japanese players occupy the top five positions on the leaderboard at Seta Golf Course.
A 17-time winner on the JLPGA, Suzuki has five top-10 finishes this season but no victories.
“I am struggling with my swing,” said Suzuki of her winless 2022. “I had a swing coach, but it did not work well. Then I made a decision to play without coach anymore, and it just start go well.”
Ai Suzuki on the 18th green during the first round of the TOTO Japan Classic at Seta Golf Course North Course on Nov. 3, 2022 in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. (Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images)
Ueda posted five consecutive birdies from Nos. 10-14. She changed driver shafts this week and put a new putter in the bag. But it was the golf course setup that made her uncomfortable.
“Order of holes has been changed since I played here before,” she said. “That is why I could not remember each hole exactly until I came and see every hole. That is why I could not feel comfortable during my play today.”
Miyuu Yamashita, the best player on the JLPGA this year, opened with a 67. Yamashita is a three-time winner this season. She leads the JLPGA in top-10 finishes (18) and scoring (70.16). This is Yamashita’s second career LPGA start. She tied for 13th in her debut at the 2022 AIG Women’s British Open.
Newly minted No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul opened with a 71 to take a share of 30th. At the start of her round, her caddie, Banpot Bunpisansaree, was presented with the green caddie bib that recognizes the top-ranked player. Thitikul, 19, is a two-time winner this season and leads the tour in top-10 finishes with 14.
“I meant a lot to me, but I think it meant a lot more to him,” said Thitikul. “I think he dreams of wearing the green bib since day one of caddying for me.”
Linn Grant shot 69 despite early-week travel delays. The LET star was only able to play nine holes on Wednesday in her only practice round. She walked the back nine.
“Thank God we started on No. 1 so we got into it a bit,” she said. “I don’t feel too uncomfortable doing that, I feel like I got a good view of the back nine from just walking but it is a bit terrifying. Having the crowds here is nice, and I think my focus just turns on a bit more. I think today was a bonus for not playing which was nice.”
“I’m just trying to improve myself and be myself every day.”
Atthaya Thitikul will tee it up as the No. 1 player in the world for the first time this week at the Toto Japan Classic. The 19-year-old joins Lydia Ko as the only teenagers to reach No. 1. Thitikul, who goes by the nickname “Jeeno,” is also the second rookie in history to become No. 1, along with South Korea’s Sung Hyun Park.
“I hadn’t thought that I would be No. 1 in the world that fast,” said Thitikul during a pre-tournament press conference in Japan. “And I didn’t think I would achieve this in my first year on the LPGA as well. Overall, I’m feeling great. Feeling grateful that this has happened this year.”
With three events left on the LPGA schedule in 2022, Thitikul will skip next week’s Pelican LPGA Championship and close out her season at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. She joins Ariya Jutanugarn as the only Thai players to reach No. 1.
“Being No. 1 is pressure,” said Thitikul. “I don’t know how long I’m going to be No. 1 in the world, but at least it’s just a ranking. But, what you have to do is improve yourself a lot. I mean, no matter where I am – No. 1, 10, 20, or 100 – I’m just trying to improve myself and be myself every day that I play as a person and as a competitor as well.”
Here are five things to know about the humble prodigy who now sits on top of the world:
“I’m just trying to improve myself and be myself every day.”
Atthaya Thitikul will tee it up as the No. 1 player in the world for the first time this week at the Toto Japan Classic. The 19-year-old joins Lydia Ko as the only teenagers to reach No. 1. Thitikul, who goes by the nickname “Jeeno,” is also the second rookie in history to become No. 1, along with South Korea’s Sung Hyun Park.
“I hadn’t thought that I would be No. 1 in the world that fast,” said Thitikul during a pre-tournament press conference in Japan. “And I didn’t think I would achieve this in my first year on the LPGA as well. Overall, I’m feeling great. Feeling grateful that this has happened this year.”
With three events left on the LPGA schedule in 2022, Thitikul will skip next week’s Pelican LPGA Championship and close out her season at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. She joins Ariya Jutanugarn as the only Thai players to reach No. 1.
“Being No. 1 is pressure,” said Thitikul. “I don’t know how long I’m going to be No. 1 in the world, but at least it’s just a ranking. But, what you have to do is improve yourself a lot. I mean, no matter where I am – No. 1, 10, 20, or 100 – I’m just trying to improve myself and be myself every day that I play as a person and as a competitor as well.”
Here are five things to know about the humble prodigy who now sits on top of the world:
Minjee Lee and Atthaya Thitikul are dueling it out in the Aon Risk Reward Challenge. The winner of the season-long race earns $1 million.
Minjee Lee and Atthaya Thitikul have much to play for as the LPGA season winds down, including a couple of seven-figure checks. In addition to the CME Group Tour Championship’s record-setting $2 million winner’s check, they currently top the standings in the Aon Risk Reward Challenge.
Both players are in the field at this week’s Toto Japan Classic, where the challenge hole is the par-5 13th at Seta Golf Course, set at 476 yards. The Aon insight says that from the fairway, 27 percent of the field is expected to successfully reach the green.
The winner of the season-long race earns $1 million. When Lee won the U.S. Women’s Open in June, she earned a first-place check of $1,800,000. So far this season, 22 players have crossed the $1 million mark in earnings.
Players take their best two scores from each Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, with the winners having the best average score to par at the end of the regular season. Only two events remain before a winner will be decided. Neither Lee nor Thitikul will be competing in Pelican LPGA Championship, Nov. 10-13, which means this is their final event to make a move.
Atthaya Thitikul looks on on the 6th hole during day two of the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Lee currently holds the lead with a season-long average score to par of -0.912. Thitikul, who just moved to No. 1 in the world, is at -0.891.
If Lee records two birdies this week, her season-long average would move to -0.917, requiring Thitikul to record an eagle and a birdie to tie her score.
If Lee makes a par and a birdie on the hole, her score will move down to -0.899.
Should Lee make a birdie and an eagle, she’d all but lock up the competition.
Thitikul could move into first place with a pair of eagles. A birdie and an eagle would move her to -0.917, which would tie Lee, should she record two birdies.
China’s Xiyu Lin is not in the field in Japan. She’ll need at least one eagle, possibly two, at the Pelican next week to have a chance.
Thitikul and Lee are tied for 12th on the LPGA in par-5 scoring at 4.62. Lin is second at 4.56 behind Jennifer Kupcho (4.54).
Previous winners of the Aon include Carlota Ciganda and Hannah Green. Scottie Scheffler won the Aon Risk Reward Challenge on the PGA Tour and the $1 million prize a year ago.
Thitikul, 19, becomes the second teen to ascend to No. 1, following in the footsteps of Lydia Ko.
Atthaya Thitikul has officially supplanted Jin Young Ko as the No. 1 player in the world. Thitikul, 19, becomes the second teen to ascend to No. 1, following in the footsteps of Lydia Ko, who was 17 years, 9 months and 9 days when she reached the top spot in 2015.
Ko, who has held the top spot since Jan. 31, 2022, first became No. 1 in April 2019 and has spent 152 total weeks atop the rankings. Lorena Ochoa holds the record at 158 weeks.
Thitikul, a rookie who has two wins this season, also joins Ariya Jutanugarn as the only Thai players to reach No. 1. Thitikul joins Sung Hyun Park as the only rookies to reach no. 1. She currently leads the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year race and is in the mix for LPGA Player of the Year.
“It means a lot for my team, my family, my supporters and myself. It is such an honor to have my name at the top amongst the biggest names of the game,” said Thitikul in a release. “It is very special to get to the top but it is much harder to retain it. I still have a lot to learn from all the legends and current players both on and off the course. I will continue to work hard for my family, my team, my fans and my country.”
Prior to joining the LPGA, Thitikul became the youngest player ever to win the Ladies European Tour’s Race to Costa del Sol in 2021 while also securing Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors. At 14 years, 4 months and 19 days, Thitikul also became the youngest golfer to ever win a professional golf tournament with her victory at the LET’s Thailand Championship in 2017.
