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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
Sport

Ariya, Atthaya among title favourites

Ariya Jutanugarn competes in the Meijer LPGA Classic. David Berding

Twelve Thai players, led by in-form Ariya Jutanugarn and world No.6 Atthaya Thitikul, will compete in this week's Women's PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey.

Other Thais in the field in the year's second major, which tees off on Thursday, include Patty Tavatanakit, Moriya Jutanugarn, Pajaree Anannarukarn, Pornanong Phatlum, Jasmine Suwannapura and Natthakritta Vongtaveelap.

Ariya, 27, and Atthaya, 20, are among the title contenders this week.

Two-time major winner Ariya has not won an individual title since her triumph on home soil at the Honda LPGA Thailand 2021.

But the Bangkok star came close to winning at the Meijer LPGA Classic last week when she was runner-up, two shots behind champion Leona Maguire.

Ariya, her sister Moriya, Atthaya and Patty helped Thailand win the International Crown team event last month.

Atthaya, who is looking for her first major title, skipped the Meijer tournament.

The Ratchaburi native has not yet claimed an individual title this year after winning twice in her rookie season in 2022.

She will try to become Thailand's third major champion after Ariya and Patty, who won the 2021 Chevron Championship.

In the first two rounds, Atthaya will play alongside Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and Ayaka Furue from Japan, while Ariya is grouped with Japan's Yuka Saso and American Christie Kerr.

Pajaree, 24, won her second tour title at the LPGA Match-Play last month.

Meanwhile, world No.2 Nelly Korda returns from a lower back injury to compete in the Women's PGA Championship, trying to capture her second major title after missing four events.

The 24-year-old American daughter of retired tennis star Petr Korda has had more than a month off since missing the cut in last month's LPGA Founders Cup.

Before that, Korda had top-six finishes in six of seven LPGA events this year and had moved to world No.1 before being overtaken by South Korea's Ko Jin-Young last month.

Korda will tee off with top-ranked Ko and third-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand in the first two rounds.

"I'm very excited," Korda said. "It's going to be a pretty interesting test this week. It's an amazing golf course. Your game has to be good and on all cylinders.

Atthaya Thitikul is seeking her first major title. photos by afp Drew Hallowell

"I honestly wouldn't be playing if I wasn't 100 percent."

Korda, the reigning Olympic champion, suffered a back injury at the 2020 Women's PGA Championship and missed much of that season but won her first major title at the 2021 Women's PGA.

Korda won three other LPGA titles and Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 but in March 2022 announced she was taking a break due to a blood clot in her left arm and missed three months. She later won her second Pelican Women's Championship, her most recent of eight LPGA victories.

Rose Zhang will play the first two rounds alongside fellow American Lexi Thompson and Australia's Minjee Lee.

Zhang, 20, is playing in her first major tournament since turning pro and coming off a victory in her LPGA Tour debut at the Mizuho Americas Open earlier this month.

Thompson tied for second at last year's Women's PGA Championship, failing to hold a two-shot lead on Sunday and losing by one shot to champion Chun In-Gee of South Korea.

Chun will tee off alongside American Danielle Kang and Australia's Hannah Green.

World No.4 Lilia Vu of the US will tee off with Canada's Brooke Henderson and South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai.

Vu has won two titles this year -- the LPGA Thailand and Chevron Championship. 

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