Four straight wins for unstoppable teenager Arpichaya
Teenage prodigy Arpichaya Yubol picked up her fourth straight victory, in the seventh leg of the Bt1 Million Singha-SAT Thai LPGA Championship at the Singha Park Golf Club in Khon Kaen on Friday.
The 16-year-old overcame three bogeys from the 12th to 15th holes to fire two finishing birdies in a three-under-par final-round 69. That gave her a total of 12 under-par-204 for her three rounds and victory by five strokes.
The Saraburi-based Arpichaya has won four successive Thai LPGA series: the fourth leg in Hua Hin (Royal Club) in May, the 5th in Rayong in June and the sixth in Hua Hin (Black Mountain Golf Club) in July.
She is the first player to win four straight Thai LPGA events, beating the hat-trick of wins by Nonthaya Srisawang, who won the second to fourth legs in 2012.
“I haven’t won four tournaments [on the same Tour] in a row before. I’m so overwhelmed,” said Arpichaya, who earned Bt142,500 for her win.
“I was hitting the ball well but a minor injury on my toes affected me on the back nine, which was why I made a few errors. Luckily I recovered in time to shoot scores in the end,” added the teenager. She dedicated this win to her grandmother, with whom she stayed throughout the tournament.
Chommapat Pongthanarak, with a 71, finished runner-up on seven under-par-209 to pick up Bt96,285.
Former SEA Games national player Manuschaya Zeemakorn, 20, shot a closing 71 to be third on five under-par-211, along with Waralee Atcharerk (72).
The next Thai LPGA event is at the Mae Jo Golf Resort and Spa in Chiang Mai from August 15-17.
