Trichat Cheenglab is the surprising winner of the Race to Costa del Sol 2023. Nothing to object. She has earned it by scoring more points than anyone else in the Ladies European Tour ranking. But it is undeniable that it has been a surprise. She was not even among the top 40 favourites when the season started. Moreover, she was not among the 40 favourites before the La Sella Open tournament was held, back in July. However, a more than solid year and an exceptional end of season have been enough for her to overtake everyone and lift the title. Hats off.
Cheenglab, however, has joined a very select club where only world-class players reside. These are those who have managed to win the Ladies European Tour ranking in their rookie year. Watch out for the list: Laura Davies, Carlota Ciganda, Esther Henseleit, Atthaya Thitikul and Linn Grant. Beware. These are big words. Let’s not fall into the temptation to underestimate what this 28-year-old Thai player has done.
An emotional Trichat Cheenglab reacts to winning the #RaceToCostaDelSol & Rookie of the Year 💭🇹🇭#RaiseOurGame | #OpenDeEspaña pic.twitter.com/bkEaRncvhi
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 26, 2023
Those who do not follow the day-to-day of the Ladies European Tour will wonder how she has been able to achieve it, having also as rivals golfers of the stature of Celine Boutier or Ana Peláez. Well, very simple: with great regularity. She has achieved a victory (Big Green Egg Open in the Netherlands), two second places (Mallorca and Czech Republic) and seven top 10s, including three in Aramco tournaments (Singapore, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia).
In fact, Cheenglab shot her season by breaking a glass to get out of a bathroom window at La Sella. Just like that. It happened in the last round of the LET tournament held in Alicante. She got locked in the middle of the round, hit and shouted to try to get someone to open it, but seeing her little success she had no choice but to break the window to get out of the bathroom and continue playing. She finished that Sunday in fifth position and from there she has signed her Dutch victory, a sixth in Hong Kong, a fourth in Jeddah and a second in the Mallorca Classic.
Celine Boutier and Ana Peláez have tried to overthrow the Asian golfer until the end. The Frenchwoman needed to finish at least in fourth position alone, as Cheenglab’s week, who arrived in first position, has been very bad and she has finished in 55th position, so she has hardly scored anything. Boutier had options throughout the day, but a final bogey on the 18th, when she needed the birdie to keep hope alive, eliminated any mathematical possibility. She finished seventh in the tournament and second in the Race to Costa del Sol.
Peláez also fought it until the last breath. The Malaga native needed to win. She would have taken it with a victory in view of the rest of the results, but she fell a little short. She was third, four strokes behind Aditi Ashok, winner of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España and, in the end, great ally of Cheenglab. Ana has finished in fifth position the Race.
As it stands, the bonus of 250,000 euros that the top three in the Race to Costa del Sol shared has been for Cheenglab (125,000), Boutier (75,000) and Diksha Dagar (50,000).
Nuria Iturrioz, on the verge of the top 10 of the Race and the LPGA School Final
In addition to the Race to Costa del Sol, there were other things at stake. For example, the golfers who qualify directly to play the Final of the LPGA Tour School. You had to finish in the top 10 of the ranking. The lucky ones are: Cheenglab, Dagar, Peláez, Van Dam, Gustavsson, Forsterling and Spilkova. These seven have earned the right to play in that Final, but it will have to be them now who decide whether to play it or not. Van Dam, for example, is quite clear that she wants to focus on Europe because she believes it is the best way to get to the Solheim. Well, and that the LPGA has so far been an insurmountable wall in her career. Also finishing in the Top 10 were Ashok, Boutier and Grant, who already have the card and do not count. The one who was left at the gates of this goal is Nuria Iturrioz. The Balearic has been eleventh, despite her great final round today at Las Brisas of 66 strokes that has allowed her to finish in the top 25.
Marta Sanz secures the full card for 2024
Finally, today also decided the top 70 with those who keep the full card for next year. Marta Sanz has resisted and will have full rights in 2024. Her idea is to focus on Europe, despite also having an Epson Tour card.
