FOLLOWING two days and 36 holes of top-notch golf action, Thailand’s rising amateur star, Kritchanya Kaopattanaskul showcased pinpoint precision and perfect poise to rise to the top with a total score of 7-under-par 137 after adding a second round 70 to her opening 67, which featured a hole-in-one.
“I’m very happy I have qualified to play in the Maybank Championship on the LPGA Tour. It means a lot to me. It’ll be my first professional tournament outside of Thailand. I hope I can play as well in October as I did over the past two days in front of my 2 Malaysian friends,” said the 17-year-old, reflecting on the moment that propelled her onto the LPGA stage.
Following closely behind were Achiraya Sriwong (amateur), Namo Luangnitikul (amateur), Cholcheva Wongras and Kan Bunnabodee, who made it a Thai sweep in the qualifier as they claimed the remaining four spots after battling through a tight contest among 69 players from the ASEAN region.
The 16-year-old Sriwong, the highest ranked amateur in the field at World No. 41, carded the day’s best of 67 for solo second, two behind Kaopattanaskul. Luangnitikul finished third on 144 following a 71, while Wongras and Bunnabodee shared fourth position after rounds of 71 and 72 respectively to complete the top-5 qualifiers for the US$3 million (RM12.6m) Maybank Championship, which will be played on the West Course from October 30-November 2.
Malaysian duo Ng Jing Xuen (70) and Genevieve Ling (74) shared sixth place after a hard fought round, finishing only one shot outside the top-5.
