The Ladies European Tour (LET) has been short on good news this year, with most of their 2017 attention coming from the fact that they have had to cancel five events.
Atthaya Thitikul: remember this name! The 14-year-old Thai amateur shot an opening round of 70 (-2) & is currently 2 off the lead #LETC2017 pic.twitter.com/EirQyvikJF
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) July 6, 2017
Speculation of fiduciary shortcomings has been rampant, but on Sunday, the European equivalent of the LPGA made headlines for an impressive reason. The Thailand Open, just the fifth event the LET has been able to hold this year, was won by Atthaya Thitkul, a 14-year-old Thai product.
Thitkul, an amateur, shot a final-round 72 to win by two strokes and become the youngest winner in Tour history. The previous record had been held by current world No. 3 Lydia Ko, who won the New Zealand Open when she was just 15-years old.
Bullets
- Historic Win: Atthaya Thitkul won the LET’s Thailand Open over the weekend, becoming the youngest winner in Tour history at 14 years, 4 months, and 19 days. The victory smashed Lydia Ko’s record, set when she was 15 years, 9 months, and 17 days old.
- Caddie Assist: Thitkul credited the surprise victory her ability to stay in the moment and not get caught up in the score, something she said her caddie helped tremendously with.
- No Money: Runner-up Ana Menendez received the E45,000 first-place prize since Thitkul is an amateur.
- Final Scores: Over the four days of the tournament, Thitkul shot 70-71-70-72. She also made news this past February when she finished T37 in an LPGA event.
Winning Putt
She's done it! Atthaya Thitikul has become the youngest ever winner on the Ladies European Tour aged 14 years, 4 months & 19 days! #LETC2017 pic.twitter.com/jNqSavo44A
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) July 9, 2017
Quotable
“I was nervous at the first tee. But I didn’t think about the scores. I just focused on my shots and only on my caddie. I didn’t expect to win this tournament as I just came here to learn techniques from the pro players on the Ladies European”
–Atthaya Thitkul
