Thai Golf: PK Overcomes Demon in Her Head to Win Maiden SAT-TWT Open Title in Hua Hin

Patcharajutar Kongkraphan celebrated her first crown on the Thai WPGA Tour following a convincing five-stroke victory over Ornnicha Konsunthea in the Bt2.5 Million SAT-TWT Open Road To World Ranking circuit 4 at the Royal Hua Hin Golf Course in Prachuab Khiri Khan on Friday.

The former LPGA player, also the leader in rounds 1 and 2, shot three birdies and one eagle on the 11th hole against two bogeys on the third and 10th holes to end the final round with a 69 and on 10 under-par-206.

The wire-to-wire victory also served up as a good psychological booster for PK who had to bear with the second place finish three times in another domestic tour this year (at Watermill Golf Club and Resort in Nakhon Nayok, Narai Hill Golf Resort and Country Club in Lopburi and at the Singha Park Khon Kaen Golf Club).

“I was a bit scared at the beginning after finishing runner-up in three tournaments. But if I let that demon (of losing three finals) in my head, I would never win. So I tried to give it a fight out there,” said the 30-year-old whose previous title occurred at the Grand Prix Golf Club in Kanchanaburi (12 months ago). She has won a total of 12 professional events up to date.

“I’m really proud of myself for never giving up. As long as you keep fighting, you will finally pull it off. If it doesn’t happen today, it will one day,” added Patcharajutar who won the winner’s cheque of Bt367,500.

 The gap between the two front runners was reduced to only two shots when PK bogeyed on the 10th hole while Ornnicha birdied to trail at 4-6. But the gutsy PK surged ahead with a 15-foot eagle on the following hole and never looked back.

“From then on I was confident that I was going to win. I hope to keep playing consistently like this for the rest of the season,” she said.

Ornnicha, 25 from Lopburi, with two birdies and one bogey, was unable to catch up with the overnight leader as she settled with a 71 and on five under-par-211.

“I really pushed her to the test to fall just two strokes at one point. But she was really on the top of her game and gave me no chance,” said Ornnicha whose runner-up position at the Royal Hua Hin Golf Course also matched her best professional finish after losing a playoff in a Taiwan LPGA Tour in 2019.

“At least I proved mentally tough under a tense situation. That’s one positive aspect that I feel good about my game leaving this tournament. I hope that my first win will come one day,” said Ornnicha who won Bt223,440 as a runner-up.

Kultida Pramphun shot a 70 and a total of one under-par-215 to land at joint third alongside Unyamanee Wongaroon who finished with a 71.

The next SAT-TWT Open, the fifth leg, is due between July 27-29 at the Lake View Resort and Golf Club in Prachuab Khiri Khan.

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About Thai WPGA

The Thai Women’s Professional Golf Association has been established with the objective to support and promote Thai women’s golf activities. The association aims at organizing local tours with world ranking points in the near future which will pave the way for Thai golfers to the international arena. In addition, Thai women’s golfers can use the tour to develop their skills to meet the universal standard. Moreover, medium-proficiency level players can gain experience from Challenger tours which can help produce new generation players and at the same time develop golf human resources and systematic golf organization locally.

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Adam Judd
Mr. Adam Judd is the Co-owner of TPN Media since December 2017. He is originally from Washington D.C., America, but has also lived in Dallas, Sarasota, and Portsmouth. His background is in retail sales, HR, and operations management, and has written about news and Thailand for many years. He has lived in Pattaya for over nine years as a full-time resident, is well known locally and been visiting the country as a regular visitor for over a decade. His full contact information, including office contact information, can be found on our Contact Us page below. Stories please e-mail Editor@ThePattayanews.com About Us: https://thepattayanews.com/about-us/ Contact Us: https://thepattayanews.com/contact-us/