Thailand reign supreme, Wong snatches boys' title
Thailand claimed all but one title on offer at the Singha Thailand Junior World Championships, with teenage golfer Pannarat Thanapolboonyarus clinching top honours at the Royal Hua Hin Course yesterday.
The tournament, which has been staged for four consecutive years, boasted a large field of 109 golfers from nine countries including newcomers Slovenia.
In the race for the overall title, which took the scores only from boys’ and girls’ Class A and B categories into consideration, 13-year-old Pannarat from Khon Kaen became the only golfer to keep her final round score in the red, which saw her win the prestigious trophy with a two-under-par total of 286.
Taiwan’s Wong Wei-Hsiang became the only non-Thai winner after registering a four-day total score of 294 to seal the boys’ Class A title, three strokes ahead of Danthai Boonma, who finished level with Nanfa Somnuek on 297, but took the runners-up spot thanks to his better score in the final round.
Wad Phaewchimplee, a 16-year-old student from Triam Udom Suksa School, finished with a 294 to win the girls’ Class A division, four strokes adrift of Pinyada Kuvanun, with Kamonwan Luamsri third two strokes back.
Despite a disastrous final round which saw him record an 80, 13-year-old Sarit Suwannarat cruised to victory in the boys’ Class B division with a total score of 300, six shots ahead of Filipino golfer Gabriel Monotoc. Paphangkorn Itthiratchai settled was third one stroke further back.
Consistent Benyapa Niphatsaphon led from the opening round before wrapping up her win with a total score of 294 in the girls’ Class B category, with Chanya Prathetrat (298) and Budsabakorn Sukapan (304) finishing second and third respectively.
Sarit teamed up with Tawan Phongphun and their partnership proved effective after the pair secured a wire-to-wire victory in the boys’ team competition, while Wad and Chanya Prathetrat won the girls’ team title by six strokes.
The fact that Thailand managed to win eleven out of the 12 titles illustrated the degree of dominance the country enjoyed in the tournament.
