Atthaya takes aim at SEA Games gold for Thailand

Only 14, Atthaya won the Taiwan Amateur Open and then made history by becoming the youngest winner of the LET Thailand Championship in Chon Buri. On Saturday, she won her third successive title at the Dutch Junior Open by firing a course record 63 in the final round and a tournament record of 20-under 268 at the Toxandria Golf Club.
“I’m very confident about my game right now. I didn’t expect to win three events in a row but all these achievements really help me in terms of my psychological strength for my upcoming tournaments,” said the golfer from Ratchaburi who is one of the three teens in the women’s squad alongside Thitapa Iamtragul and Manuschaya Zeemakorn.
The 14-year-old has been invited to play in next week’s British Open, which will be her last tune-up event before the SEA Games. She is billed as favourite to win the individual event and the team event for Thailand, who are the reigning champions.
“I will try to win both events. I’m pretty excited to play in the SEA Games for the first time but I will keep my cool and put in maximum effort,” said Atthaya, who will leave for the British Open on Saturday. It will be her third major event this year following the LPGA Thailand and the Ladies European Thailand Championship.
“I always feel excited when I get a chance to play with the top players. No matter what I have achieved this far, I still think I need to learn more from these experienced players. They have the technique and ways of handling situations that I need to learn,” the teenager said.

Thailand Golf Association president Rungsarid Luxitanonda insists that his squad should win all four gold medals and repeat the feat achieved by the team in the 2015 edition in Singapore.
“In golf, you win some and lose some but our team is built not to lose. We fear no team in the region. Our players have all the abilities to win all the gold medals in the SEA Games,” Rungsarid said.