Tag: jasmine suwannapura

Jasmine Suwannapura fires 61, wins playoff at 2024 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

Suwannapura wins third LPGA title.

Lucy Li had three eagles and shot a final-round 60 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. And she needed all of it to earn a spot in a playoff.

A short while after Li eagled the par-5 18th hole, Jasmine Suwannapura eagled it herself to shoot a 61 and get to 17 under to tie for the lead at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas.

The duo then dueled in extra holes, and on the second playoff hole, Suwannapura hit an amazing second shot that found the back of the green before rolling back to about 12 feet.

https://twitter.com/LPGA/status/1840503116224999432

She then made the putt for yet another eagle on the par-5 18th, but this one was the clincher.

Suwannapura is the fifth player from Thailand to win on the LPGA in 2024, joining Moriya Jutanugarn (Portland Classic), Patty Tavatanakit (Honda LPGA Thailand), Jeeno Thitikul (Dow Championship) and Chanettee Wannasaen (Dana Open). Suwannapura is the 18th different winner on the LPGA this season.

Celine Boutier, Rose Zhang within striking distance at LPGA’s Maybank Championship

It shouldn’t be a surprise to see Celine Boutier’s name on top of the leaderboard.

This summer, Celine Boutier won the Amundi Evian Championship for her first major championship. Then the next week in Scotland, she captured the Scottish Open.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise to see her name near the top of the leaderboard in Malaysia at the LPGA’s inaugural Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. Boutier shot 8-under 64 during Friday’s second round to move into a tie for third, two behind leader Jasmine Suwannapura and a shot behind Rose Zhang.

“I feel like I had a lot of really close birdie putts,” Boutier said. “The greens are soft so I was able to hit it a little bit easier to just be aggressive, because the ball is going to stay. I feel like if you can manage to control your distances very well it’s a lot easier when you don’t have to worry about the bounces.”

Boutier was caught in a weather delay Thursday, but she found her stride in the second round, carding the lowest score of the day by two shots.

Suwannapura followed up an opening 9-under 63 with a 69. Meanwhile, Zhang shot 4-under 68 and will be in the final group on Saturday. She’s looking forward for her shot at a second professional win this weekend.

“It would be incredible,” Zhang said. “It’s not really something that I think about a lot. I feel like there is a lot of incredible players out here who can put up incredible numbers, so for me it’s just being able to take that step by step and having that game plan with Ollie, being able to commit to every single shot, and then we’ll go from there. If I end up in that position, I’ll be working my hardest.”

Six Thai players to watch at Honda LPGA Thailand, including a world-class rookie

A total of 10 players from Thailand are in the field this week. Here’s a closer look at some of the host nation’s best.

As the Honda LPGA Thailand celebrates its 15th year, golf in Thailand has never been so robust. Last year Ariya Jutanugarn became the first Thai player to win the event, fitting given that she was the first Thai to win on the LPGA and rise to No. 1.

Incredibly, Thai players finished 1-2-3 last year with LPGA rookie Atthaya Thitikul placing second and last year’s Chevron winner, Patty Tavatanakit coming in third.

This marks the 10th time the Honda Thailand will be contested on the Pattaya Old Course at Siam Country Club.

A total of 10 players from Thailand are in the field: Jaravee Boonchant (Bangkok), Ariya Jutanugarn (Bangkok), Moriya Jutanugarn (Bangkok), Wichanee Meechai (Bangkok), Jasmine Suwannapura (Bangkok), Rina Tatematsu (Bangkok), Patty Tavatanakit (Bangkok), Prima Thammaraks (Bangkok), Atthaya Thitikul (Ratchaburi) and Chanettee Wannasaen (Chiang Mai).

Here’s a closer look at some of the host nation’s best:

Defending champs Cydney Clanton, Jasmine Suwannapura take co-lead into final round of Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational

Suwannapura and Clanton posted their third straight 65 a jumping into a tie for the lead with Pajaree Anannarukarn and Aditi Ashok

Experience and consistency are keys to success on the LPGA. For Jasmine Suwannapura and Cydney Clanton, the experience part — at least in terms of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational — is something they’ve got firmly in their back pocket, as the duo still holds the title of reigning champs at the team event in Midland, Michigan.

And through three rounds, the pair certainly has shown consistency. On Friday, Suwannapura and Clanton posted their third straight 65 and while other teams ebbed and flowed, Team All In stayed the course in jumping to a tie for the lead with Pajaree Anannarukarn and Aditi Ashok. Carlota Ciganda and Mel Reid are a stroke behind heading into the final day of play at Midland Country Club.

“I think we stayed pretty patient. I don’t think just because we win two years ago it doesn’t mean that the golf course was easy. Doesn’t mean that we’re going to be able to play some good golf,” Suwannapura said. “It’s just golf. Like we just stay patient and find opportunities for ourselves to make birdies and have fun with each other.”

There’s plenty at stake on Saturday as eight different teams are within five shots of the lead at 10 under, including the sister duo of Jessica and Nelly Korda. A string of four straight birdies on the front helped the Kordas finish with a 66. Among the teams also at 10 under are Minjee Lee/Yuka Saso, Maria Fassi/Stacy Lewis and Brittany Lang/Brittany Lincicome.

Lincicome said she’s eager to get the final round started and feels like her team can make a run.

“Absolutely. Two balls in play, two looks at birdie on every hole, and I think you’re less afraid to mess up then when it’s not alternate-shot. So we’ll be a little bit more free tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll just start rolling them in,” she said. “Having all these fans, too. It’s so great to hear them cheering for us and rooting us on. We haven’t had that in so long, so we can’t thank them enough for coming out and supporting.”

For Suwannapura and Clanton the Dow defense has been an impressive one. While the pair ran away with the title in 2019 — the event wasn’t held last year due to the pandemic — this year’s tournament has been more taxing, yet they’re still in position to win.

“I think it would be really special. There’s so many good memories, especially for me in this situation in 2018. But to come back and play good again, and I feel like we’ve grinded all week, I feel that 2019 felt a little bit easier than this week. I feel like we’ve grinded really hard,” Clanton said. “So that’s what the goal is. The goal is to grind. All of us want to win, and so it would be really cool to do it two times in a row.

“I think we’d probably be speechless tomorrow to be honest with you. I’m sure all the emotions will come, but can’t really worry about tomorrow until tomorrow.”

Two-time LPGA winner gets engaged on 18th green at Diamond Resorts TOC

Jasmine Suwannapura accepted a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Saturday at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions will always hold a special place for Jasmine Suwannapura. It’s where Michael David Thomas got down on one knee by the 18th green and proposed on Friday, putting the ultimate sparkle in her season-opening event on the LPGA.

“I actually picked the ring myself,” said Suwannapura, “but he didn’t say when it’s going to happen or how.”

The couple met two years ago on the dating app Bumble, but they didn’t actually see each other in person for almost two months. Suwannapura, a native of Bangkok who lives in Ashburn, Virginia, kept her real name and occupation under wraps too, telling him she was an event coordinator who traveled the world. The two-time LPGA winner didn’t include any photos of herself in golf clothes, either.

Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions: Leaderboard | Photos

“That’s what I put on there until I find someone decent,” she said. “OK, we’ve been talking for a while, alright, this is my name. Here you go.”

Thomas, an IT engineer who works for Dominion Electric in Virginia, mostly played tennis growing up. Suwannapura had to brush up his golf skills after they started dating.

“I think he almost play like total of 20 rounds of golf,” she said. “So, yeah, it’s getting better. His short game is pretty good though. He can putt.”

Suwannapura, 28, said it’s not uncommon for her female friends who play golf to also keep their identities quiet at first.  But for male golfers, she said, it’s different.

“I see the guys say that I’m professional golfer,” she said. “But for the women I feel like it’s safe for us not to say that, because people can Google that real quick.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKX5FzFFjxw/

[lawrence-related id=778084899,778084867,778084715,778084671]