Ariya DREAMS of becoming No 1

The 20yearold returned home yesterday to a rapturous welcome amidst media frenzy after writing a new chapter in the history books as the first Thai to win a major golf title.

Without batting an eyelid, she said her next focus is to become the world No 1 as she rose from No 6 to 2 this week following the biggest win of her career.

 “When I earned the card on the LPGA Tour, I set the goal that I will reach top 10 in three years but it took me only two to achieve that. If I get a chance I would love to be the No 1 player,” said Ariya, who along with Ko are the only two players to have won four titles this year. The Thai won the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, Kingsmill Championship and LPGA Volvik Championship in a row in May.

Ariya knows that she still has plenty of catching up to do with the Kiwi, who has two Majors, the 2015 Evian Championship and 2016 ANA Inspiration to her credit.

“There is big gap between me and Lydia,” said Ariya, who has a total of 428.98 points, compared to Lydia’s 785.44. “She is a really good player.”

 However, the first priority for Ariya now is to produce a medal in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. She and Ko are the strong favourites to win the women’s golf competition, which is due between August 17-20.

“I have set the target to win an Olympic medal to make Thais happy. I also want to put in good results to make His Majesty the King happy on the occasion of 70th anniversary of his accession to the throne,” she said.

Ariya, whose strongest part of her game is her booming drives off the tee, admitted her style might not suit the links course in Brazil.

“I never played on the course in Rio but what I have heard was that it’s a links course. That will be tough for me as it’s not one of my favourites. However, I will try to study the course and adjust my game to it,” said Ariya, who will spend a week in Thailand before leaving for Brazil on August 10.

“It’s the goal of every athlete to win a gold, I’m one of them. I want to perform the duty to the best of my ability. I’m getting more confident as days go by. I have been feeling that way since I won my first title. Now I know what I have to do when I am under pressure,” said Ariya, who admitted she loves to dress in black in the final round.

“After I wore black and won my first title. I thought it was the right colour. So I started wearing black in every final round. It makes me look a bit thin,” she joked. She also thanked Prime Minister Prayut Chanocha for his support.

The Thai golfer went straight to get vaccinated for yellow fever at a hospital after leaving the airport. She is due to visit her sponsors the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Betagro this morning and take part in a cooperative activity with SCG on Friday and conduct a golf clinic for children at the Dhupathemiya Golf Course on Saturday.