World number three Atthaya Thitikul is relishing the chance to put the icing on the cake as she aims to finish the 2022 season strongly by capturing her first Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour title at the inaugural Hana Financial Group Singapore Women's Open next week.
The 19-year-old will be out to live up to her hype as the highest-ranked player in the 102-woman field at the Tanah Merah Country Club from December 9-11, where she faces strong competition from a host of KLPGA heavyweights spearheaded by Min-ji Park, the 2022 Money List winner, and US LPGA Tour's rising star Yealimi Noh.
Atthaya is no stranger to competing in Singapore, and in fact, the country has been a favourite hunting ground since her amateur days.
She once finished runner-up at the Singapore Junior Championship in 2016 and won the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific in 2018.
She also enjoyed two top-eight finishes in the HSBC Women's Champions event hosted here in 2018 and last year.
"I always love coming back to Singapore. I mean, the weather and everything else is similar to Thailand. It's like competing back home," said Atthaya.
The Hana Financial Group-backed Atthaya been a revelation in her first season on the LPGA Tour, bagging two titles and has posted top-10s on 14 other occasions.
Atthaya, also fondly known by her nickname 'Jean', secured her breakthrough victory at the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol in March, propelling her to the world's top five for the first time.
It took her only six months later to return to the winner's circle, as a second triumph at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship saw her conquer the summit of the world rankings for the first time for a brief period of two weeks before being unseated by American Nelly Korda.
Atthaya also put up a valiant fight before coming in second to New Zealand's Ko Lydia Ko in the Race to CME Globe points race as well as the Vare Trophy, which is awarded to the player with the lowest scoring average of the year.
Still, it was a season to savour as the young Thai as she deservingly claimed the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award.
But Atthaya's strong performance certainly didn't raise any eyebrows as much was expected from the player who emerged as the Ladies European Tour (LET) number one in 2021.
It was on LET that Atthaya first rose to prominence. In July 2017, she created history by becoming the youngest golfer ever to win a professional golf tournament at age 14 years, 4 months and 19 days after winning the Ladies European Thailand Championship as an amateur.
Having proven herself on both the LPGA Tour and LET, Atthaya knows there's a good chance for her to stamp her mark further by making her rare KLPGA Tour appearance count.
"I know it was a really great year for me. A lot of good things happen this year. I mean, if I can do it then it would be great but if not, I'm sure it's still going to be a great event for me," she said.
"We usually see a lot of great Korean players on the LPGA Tour, so it's without a doubt that the KLPGA Tour is a very strong and competitive circuit as well.
"The KLPGA Tour comprises many talented players there. If you want to finish on top, then you have to play really solid golf all week to stand a chance."
Atthaya has also paid tribute to Hana Financial Group for its strong backing which led to her enjoying laudable success in the early stage of her professional career.
"I'm so lucky and humbled to be a part of the HFG family. Being a Thai, I have never imagined I would be getting support from a Korean conglomerate," she said.
"But HFG placed their faith and see something in me. I can't thank HFG enough for their help and support."
Meanwhile, Princess Mary Superal of the Philippines will also head to Tanah Merah Country Club seeking to replicate the giant-killing feat that crowned her the Simone Asia-Pacific Cup winner in Jakarta in August.
The 25-year-old upstaged some of the world’s biggest names including Ko, So-yeon Ryu, Hyo-joo Kim in the Ladies Asian Tour (LAT) event to claim her first-ever professional title since turning professional in 2016.
“I'm just happy to participate in this upcoming tournament, and I'm also excited to play with all of these fantastic players who are participating in it as well,” said Superal.
Ends.
