Par for the course

Ariya Jutanugarn was just five feet away from her biggest victory ever. The setting was the LPGA Thailand tournament in Pattaya three years ago and the press had gathered at the 18th hole ready to record history being made as the young golfer, who had a two-stroke lead over South Korean
In-bee Park, took her shot. All over the
country millions of Thais were glued to their TV screens prepared to cheer on the first Thai ever to be crowned an LPGA champion.
But it all went badly wrong. Ariya, then only 17, missed two easy putts, finally tapping the ball into the hole on her third attempt before the tears came and she buried her face in the shoulder of Moriya, her older sister Everyone was in a state of shock, including the eventual winner In-bee, who had finished her round earlier and was monitoring play in the clubhouse.
Ariya describes that day as one of the saddest in her life, not because she failed to win the
title but because she felt she had let down the
whole country. And it was a memory that would continue to haunt her.
She came close to winning on two occasions, the first at the 2015 Pure Silk Bahamas and then again at this year’s opening Major, the ANA Inspiration in California in March where she squandered another opportunity. With a two-shot lead and three holes to play in the final round, Ariya bogeyed her final three holes to lose to world No 1 Lydia Ko.
“That memory, those shaky putts [in Pattaya] kept coming to my mind when I was in the lead in the final day,” says Ariya, explaining what pushed her back from capitalising on the opportunity.
“In California I was again in the lead. My hands were
shaking and I was unable to control the ball. I was really scared,” says the young golfer, who finally finished in fourth place in that competition. This time, she managed to smile at her silly mistakes though deep inside she was upset by her loss of concentration and determined to overcome her mental demons.
“I’d come so close many times. I’ve got the game but I just could not win a tournament. So I sought help from experts, asking them to do whatever they could to make me win a tournament.”
That help came in the form of mental coaches Lin Marriott from Norway and Pia Milsson of the US. Under their psychological guidance, Ariya learned how to stay focused and breathe properly. Before each crucial putt, she took her time,
boosting her confidence to tackle the shot despite the mounting pressure.
“I took a deep breath and told myself ‘I love this putt’ before I went for my shot. It really helped, I was calmer,” says Ariya, whose breakthrough came in Alabama early this month when she sank 14-under-par 274 to win the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, making no mistake as she hit a five-foot championship par putt to beat Americans Stacy Lewis and Morgan Pressel and South Korean Amy Yang by just one stroke.
And thus, aged 20 years and five months, Ariya finally wrote a new chapter in the Kingdom’s history, becoming the first Thai to win on the LPGA Tour. After a week of Cinderella-like receptions at home including a mini golf
clinic with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-och-a at the Government House, Ariya picked up where she left off by winning her second straight  LPGA title in the Kingsmill Championship last week in Virginia.
With one title already under her belt, Ariya says she found it more comfortable to make the winning putt to beat Australian Su-hyun Oh by one stroke.
“There was less pressure out there for me compared to the final day in Alabama. I started the day not thinking about winning but having fun at the course. Experience really helped me to deal with the situation,” says Ariya who became the second back-to-back winner on the LPGA this year after world No 1 Ko.
She is now the fourth player with multiple wins in 2016 after Ko, Japanese Haru Nomura and Ha-Na Jang of South Korea. And with the two victories, Ariya has surged through the LPGA ranking to her career high of No 13, bettering her previous best position at 15 in 2013 before suffering a shoulder injury that kept her out of the game for eight months.
Despite being away from the course for those long months and her 10 consecutive missed cuts last year, which she
says was the lowest phase in her career, Ariya has never
considered quitting.
“At those moments, I was only worried that I wouldn’t be able to play well again. I have occasionally thought of taking a short break but I have never wanted to quit,” she says.
She says her determination to stay in the game has been
bolstered by the unconditional support of her mother Naruemon Tiwattanasuk and elder sister Moriya, also a golf pro.
“My mother is the only person who never asks me why I haven’t played well. She just tells me to keep fighting while my sister always gives me useful advice.”
With her first target now fulfilled, Ariya is looking ahead to
further challenges including winning a Major title and producing a medal in the Olympics. But above all, she hopes her success will inspire the nine fellow Thais on the LPGA Tour to follow in her footsteps.
“If I can do it, why can’t they?”