Red-Hot Chanettee Gets Quick into Gear at 3rd Thailand Mixed Opener
Two-time champion Chanettee Wannasaen was hot on her heels as she fired an opening 66 to take a three-stroke lead in the Bt3 million Thailand Mixed hosted by TrustGolf at Rayong Green Valley Country Club on Thursday.
The teenage girl who has four titles including the first two Thailand Mixed events this year produced seven birdies against a lone bogey on the 14th hole at the par 72 course which measures 6,826 yards off the men’s tee and 5,985 off the women’s.
“I played quite O.K. even though I didn’t make some easy putts. However, I made up for that by making several birdies from about 10 feet. It was a good start on this course where the greens are quite challenging. If you hit to the wrong spots, it will be really tough,” said Chanettee who just celebrated her fourth trophy of the year on the Thai LPGA Tour at the Laem Chabang International Country Club last week.
“About the game plan tomorrow, I have to be really careful of some holes. The ball can roll pretty fast off the green fringe if you aim to the wrong position,” added the 17-year-old Chanettee who, as the current No 1 player on the 2022 TrustGolf Tour Order of Merits, already reserved one of the two spots to compete in the TrustGolf Women’s Scottish Open scheduled between July 28-31 at the Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, Scotland. The other spot, No 2 on the Merit standings, will be decided after the final on Sunday.
Three players followed three shots behind at joint second. That included 2017 Thai LPGA Tour No 1 player Parinda Phokan who fought back from two successive bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes to shoot five birdies ad finished with a 69.
“I got off to a slow start. It took me quite awhile to get my momentum. A birdie on the 18th really boosted my confidence and things started to turn my way from then on,” said the 25-year-old from Khon Kaen .
“This is a difficult course. There a lot of winds and the flag positions are quite tough. You have to hit the ball to the right position or otherwise you will end up in trouble. Tomorrow, I have to play in the afternoon when strong winds are expected. My plan is to hit the fairways and the greens,” added Parinda whose round of 69 were also matched by 2021 Thailand PGA Tour No 1 player Sangchai Sukcharoen and Pannapa Polnamin from Udon Thani.
Sangchai, 24 from Bangkok, had four birdies after 14 holes but finally had his scorecard blemished with a mistake on the 15th.
“I hit great tee shots and hit the iron well at the front nine. But after the turn my shots didn’t find the fairways. I hope to hit the fairways more to create more birdie chances tomorrow,” Sangchai said.
Fans can watch live coverage of the third Thailand Mixed either on AIS Play APP and TrustGolf Facebook and Youtube.
The Thailand Mixed is organised by TrustGolf, an indoor training center with advanced technology. It is supported by the Sports Authority of Thailand, the National Sports Development Fund, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Bangkok Bank, B.Grimm Company, Bond Holdings, AISPLAY, Bridgestone, Trust Pharmacy, Trust Live Streaming, Adidas Golf, the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration and Rayong Green Valley Country Club in Rayong.
