There is a new light in the firmament of world golf. At just 19, Thai Atthaya Thitikul is the new number one in the world. Atthaya Thitikul has literally forged ahead as she reached the top of the Rolex Ranking already in her freshman year on the LPGA Tour, the top female circuit in the world.
Since the women’s ranking has existed, only Park Sung-hyun had managed to watch them all from above as a rookie.
Atthaya Thitikul, results
A leadership conquered on the field with an impressive series of results. In the year of grace 2022 the Thai won two races, the JTBC Classic and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
If two swallows don’t spring, the same can be said for this 19 year old. In fact, the star has added to the two victories something like twelve top ten in the season, three of which in Grand Slam races. An impressive regularity her, a constant in her career.
Suffice it to say that Atthaya Thitikul entered the top 100 of the professional ranking only in July 2021: specifically, her fifth place in the Evian Championship catapulted her to 61st place in the ranking. Atthaya is by no means new to international golf news.
She was talked about for the very first time even five years ago. The Thai, four months after turning 14, won the Ladies European Thailand Championship. No player has ever lifted a professional trophy at such an early age. And her brilliant career as an amateur had already allowed her to become number one in the world amateur ranking in 2019.
In the rise of this star, many insiders see several similarities with Lydia Ko’s career. The New Zealander, in February 2015, became world number one at the age of 17, 9 months and 8 days against 19 years, 8 months and 11 days.
We’ll see. A great satisfaction for the Thai golf movement, a joy that is on a par with that of Ratchanon Chantananuwat. In April the compatriot became the youngest player to win a professional match (at the time he was 15 years and one month old).
It should be emphasized that Thailand had already expressed a number one in the ranking, namely Ariya Jutanugarn, at the top in 2017. The words of the number one novel in the Rolex Ranking are wise. “It is a significant milestone for me, my team, my family, which fills me with pride.
I still have a lot to learn. It is very special to get to the top of the leaderboard but it is much more difficult to keep it. I still have a lot to learn from all the legends and players of today, both on and off the pitch ”.
