![]() ![]() The hard work paid off, with Tavatanakit finishing fifth in the opening LPGA Tour event of the 2021 season and then claiming her first LPGA Tour win and maiden major victory at the ANA.Īlthough she led throughout the final day, her victory wasn’t straightforward. ![]() And we worked pretty hard on that off season.” But she chose to do that because she felt like she owed that to her career and she could do it. Now, that’s a lot for a young woman of 20, 21 years old to do that. “At the end of the year, we understood the plan we were going to do, and she had a choice of going back to Thailand, spend time with her parents or stay here in the US and work on our game and get ready for the Tour,” Waite told CNN Sport. However, the addition of coach Grant Waite to her team helped change Tavatanakit’s fortunes. Tavatanakit reacts to her shot from the fairway on the 11th hole during the second round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Her time on the LPGA Tour in 2020 proved tougher – she cracked the top 10 just once in 14 competitions. She turned professional in 2019, winning three times in eight tournaments on the Symetra Tour – the developmental tour of the LPGA – as well as earning the Gaëlle Truet Rookie of the Year award. “They have always been inspired and an inspiration to all the young players in Thailand, so I just feel so honored to be recognized as one of the people who would make the game of golf in Thailand grow.”Īfter moving to California to play on the golf team of the UCLA Bruins, she also enjoyed a prodigious amateur career, including being the lone amateur at the 2018 U.S. “As a Thai player, I grew up watching Ariya and Moriya play,” she explained. Michael Owens/Getty Images North America/Getty Imagesīorn and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, Tavatanakit started playing golf as a teenager. Tavatanakit poses with the trophy after winning the ANA Inspiration. READ: How Hideki Matsuyama became Japan’s new national hero It’s just my rookie year, I didn’t expect this to come any time at all.” “I’ve dreamt for that moment for the longest time, but to actually have that under my belt is just still kind of a weird feeling. “Obviously, get a major champion behind my name, it still sounds a little odd to me to think like: ‘Oh, I’m actually a major champion,’” Tavatanakit – who was ranked No. With well-wishers reaching out to her in the aftermath of her victory, Tavatanakit admits it’s “been really weird” coming to terms with the fact that she’s actually won a major. “Definitely, I get the recognition, the attention and everyone reaching out,” she told CNN Sport’s Don Riddell.Īs a 21-year-old rookie, few had predicted Tavatanakit would be in contention at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, earlier this month.ĭespite a surging Lydia Ko behind her, Tavatanakit held her nerve to win by two shots and become the first rookie champion since Juli Inkster in 1984. Since winning her debut major at the ANA Inspiration, Patty Tavatanakit’s life has dramatically changed. ![]()
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