Atthaya Thitikul, a 14-year-old girl from Thailand has made professional golfing history becoming the youngest ever winner of the Ladies European Tour Thailand Championship. She claimed a two-shot victory, beating Ana Menendez of Mexico, on Sunday, 9th of July 2017.
Thitikul finished five under after a level-par 72, two shots clear of Ana Menendez who finished at 75.
“My family do not play golf. When I was younger, aged six, my father told me to play sport and he offered tennis or golf and I watched golf on TV and I liked it.”
After posting rounds of 70, 71 and 70 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Thitikul began her fourth round one shot behind Menendez. However, Menendez dropped four shots on the front nine on Sunday and Thitikul took the lead as she found herself two shots clear at the turn after carding a birdie and two bogeys in her first nine holes.
Even though Atthaya finished first, due to her amateur status, she was not able to claim the cash prize of £40,000 (Rs. 33 lakh) and the prize went to Menendez instead.
Still, she was overjoyed with the win and celebrated with a selfie. After her victory, she told ladieseuropeantour.com, "I'm so happy and proud of myself. I did not look nervous, but of course, I felt nerves on the first tee and on the first hole. I did not think about the score. I committed to every shot I hit and stayed relaxed. My caddie helped me a lot, not to think too much, to focus on my game plan and to plan the tee shots and second shots.”
She also spoke about how she got into golf, “My family do not play golf. When I was younger, aged six, my father told me to play sport and he offered tennis or golf and I watched golf on TV and I liked it.”
Way to go, girl!
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Pic credits: Sporting Life
Also read: Challenges Faced By Female Athletes
Read more stories by Nikhita Sanotra
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