Thai teenager surprises with Hong Kong win

HONG KONG: Thai teenager Pornanong Phatlum (pic) became the first amateur and the youngest ever player to win the inaugural event of the Asian Ladies Golf Tour yesterday. 

Sixteen-year-old Pornanong, from Chaiphun province near the Laos border, claimed the US$80,000 Hong Kong Ladies Masters with birdies on two of the last three holes after a fierce contest with China's Zhong Xiaolong. 

The Thai finished with a three-under 70 on the par-73 Kau Sai Chau's North Course for a three-round total of 216. 

“The win did not come easy for me. I worked hard for it. I'll be back in two weeks time playing in the second event at my own backyard in the Thailand Ladies Open from Feb 22-24 in Bangkok,” said Pornanong. 

However, the amateur would not pick up the first-prize cheque due to her status as an amateur. 

“I'm not so worried about that, but I'm going back and filing my papers to join the professional rank,” she said. 

“I'll then play the Thailand Ladies Open as a professional and hope for a back-to-back win and be able to receive prize money,” Pornanong said, adding that she also won the men's amateur event 'V Singha Masters' last month in Chiang Rai, North Thailand. 

Prior to this, Pornanong had already agreed with her coach Supaphorn that she would turn pro if she won the Hong Kong Ladies Masters. 

Zhong finished off with only one birdie and the big hitter failed to take advantage of her favourite par-fives as she hit some wayward drives into the rough. 

Her round of 74 left her with a total of 217 strokes for the four days to tie second place with another Thai player Russamme Gulyanamitta. 

“I don't know what went wrong with my game today,” said Zhong. “I was not really hitting well but got off lucky to finish joint second.” – AFP