Rattanon Storms Ahead with Back-to-Back 68s to Lead Thailand Mixed Cup

The 27-year-old player shot eight birdies against a double bogey on the 17th hole and a bogey on No 11 to complete his 36 holes on 10 under-par-136, two in front of Chonjarern Baramithanaseth, Tawan Phongphun and Aunchisa Utama. 
 

After a rain delay that caused only half of the field to complete their rounds on Friday, Rattanon and the remaining players took their turns 24 hours later. 

Rattanon had a roller-coaster round which featured three straight birdies between No 12 and 14 to go up at 11 under before committing a double on No 17 but ended with a birdie on No 18.

“Even I made some mistakes and could have shot a lower score, I still achieved my target by hitting a 68. At least, I hit more good shots than bad ones,” said the Chanthaburi-born whose victory in the 2017 Thailand Open, an Asian Tour event, still remains his biggest win to date.

Since winning the Thai PGA Tour in 2020, Rattanon has yet to hoist the trophy again. His recent best attempt was a runner-up position in the 2022 Singapore International where he lost the play-off to South Korean rising star Tom Kim.

“I always want to win every tournament that I enter. But I don’t want to place high hopes on myself as that will put me under pressure and prevent me from playing at my level. What I need to do is to stick to the game plan by hitting the fairways and aim for the right spots on the greens,” said Rattanon who won three times on the All Thailand Golf Tour.

Chonjarern, a 22-year-old from Chaiyanat, fired a low round of 65, generating four birdies at the front nine and four more after the turn without a bogey. He sat two shots back on 8 under-par-138 alongside Tawan, who carded a 70. Aunchisa had already completed her round on Friday.

Phannarai Meesom-us was one shot behind in fifth place, shooting seven birdies and one eagle on No. 13 against two bogeys on No. 5 and 17 for a second round of 66 and a total of 139. First-round leader Kamalas Namuangruk carded an even par 73 for a total of 140, four shots off the pace.

As a consequence of the inclement weather conditions, which caused a delay in the schedule, the organizers have opted to curtail the Thailand Mixed Cup to a three-round tournament, spanning 54 holes in total. 
The final round coverage can be seen live on TrustGolf's Facebook Fanpage and YouTube channel from 9 a.m. onwards.