Patty Tavatanakit (-16) is cooking up her second consecutive victory at a rapid pace. The 24-year-old Thai has climbed to the solo lead of the Honda LPGA Thailand with a splendid third round of 66 strokes. Unstoppable mode. With 18 holes left, the local favourite, has a three-stroke lead over Madelene Sagstrom (-13) and four over Hye Jin Choi (-12), Emily Pedersen (-12) and Hyo Joo Kim (-12). Her victory cannot be taken for granted, far from it, but it is certainly well on its way.
Tavatanakit has made a statement at the start of the moving day. She has left the rest at the starting blocks with an impressive sequence of six under par in the first seven holes of the day at the Siam Country Club Old course in Chonburi. She made four birdies and an eagle and has put some distance between her and the rest. The eagle, on hole 5, came after sinking a magnificent chip from outside.
LET'S GO PATTY! 👀👀@Patty_MPT | @hondalpgath pic.twitter.com/op6FDE0LGk
— LPGA (@LPGA) February 24, 2024
It is very curious to compare what Tavatanakit is doing this year in her tournament with what happened just a year ago. It’s a complete turnaround. How to give a 180-degree turn to your story. In 2023, at this point, the Thai was last in the standings with a total of +8 (24 more strokes). Today she leads with a three-stroke advantage. Is she a different player? Not at all. This is, among other things, what a timely victory can do.
Tavatanakit comes from winning the Aramco Saudi Ladies International in Riyadh last Saturday. It was her first victory in almost three years and now she gives the impression of being unstoppable. We’ll see if she finishes the job tomorrow. Her game is being very orderly from tee to green and, in addition, she is the best putter of the tournament. If we add to that the chip for eagle, there we have her powerful leadership.
Among the candidates for victory, beyond those mentioned, we must count the five who are five strokes from the lead. They are the Thai Ariya Jutanugarn, who, like Tavatanakit, is seeking a victory that will bring fire back to her golf, the Canadian Brooke Henderson, capable of going very low at any time, the Korean Sei Young Kim, one of the big stumbles this Saturday, the Swiss Albane Valenzuela, who is determined to fight hard for a place in the Solheim Cup this year, and the surprising Thai amateur Suvichaya Vinijchaitam, the latest product of the prolific Thai factory. The very young player has been twelfth in the prestigious Asia Pacific Amateur Championship and only last year won on three occasions. She is playing her first professional tournament valid for the world ranking.
On the other hand, Azahara Muñoz (-1), the only Spanish presence this week in Thailand, has handed in a card of 72 strokes, with two birdies and two bogeys, and remains in the lower part of the classification. She is in 63rd place. Remember that the Honda LPGA Thailand is a tournament with a reduced field and no cut. The Malaga-born player has played very well from the tee, but is finding it hard to adapt to the greens of the Siam Country Club. Basically, she is not sinking as many putts as she would need to be higher up. Weeks like this happen…
