Taglao Jeeravivitaporn becomes third Thai golfer in 10 years to win WWGA Amateur Championship
Northfield, Ill. (July 23, 2022)
The 122nd Women’s Western Golf Association’s National Amateur Championship is now in the history books. Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, Thailand, captured the 122nd WWGA Amateur Championship at Sunset Ridge Country Club in a thrilling comeback Saturday afternoon.
Champion Taglao Jeeravivitaporn (right) with her teammate/caddie Warda Amira Rawof with the W.A. Alexander Cup
She became the third Thai player in tournament history to win the coveted W.A. Alexander Cup, joining current LPGA players Ariya Jutanugarn (2012) and Chakansim "Fai" Khamborn (2015).
“Now I‘m like, ‘Oh, I’m actually good.’ I mean, it's kind of more like building confidence for myself,” Jeeravivitaporn said. “Whoever wins this tournament, they're going to go play on tour anyway. So I have a chance to play on tour!”
The championship final match was delayed this morning by three hours from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. after an overnight and early morning downpour that prompted the National Weather Service to issue a severe thunderstorm warning for the area.
When the match started, Annabelle Pancake took an early 1-up lead after the first hole with Jeeravivitaporn three-putting. Pancake extended her lead to 3-up after a short birdie putt on the fifth hole and Jeeravivitaporn three-putting again on the sixth hole. Jeeravivitaporn admitted that her quality of play over the first six holes looked more like a practice round.
“I was chilling, I was not like concentrating much. But when I see the board, ‘Ooh, that was 3-down, I have to chop chop,’” Jeeravivitaporn said.
Annabelle Pancake, Zionsville, Ind.
Despite the early stumble, she and her college teammate, Warda Amira Rawof, kept the match loose.
“She did a lot of entertain with me,” Jeeravivitaporn said. “Just about everything except golf. That is my secret.”
The Iowa State University golfer would win her first hole of the day at the ninth hole. Pancake had driven her ball into a right side fairway bunker.
Jeeravivitaporn said, “That was the first hole I was thinking, ‘Oh, okay, now she missed a little bit. She gave me a chance so I have to take it.’”
Having significant experience with difficult bunkers on her home course, Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., Pancake was not panicked and later said she loves hitting out of bunkers.
“I didn't hit a great drive and it kind of just leaked a little to the right and just caught that edge, but I'm usually really good out of the bunker so I thought maybe I'll have a shot,” she said. “But, it was kind of up on the lip. So I had to just hit a wedge out, but yeah, it just kind of leaked right on me and I didn't quite catch it as good as I should have.”
Jeeravivitaporn got up-and-down for par while Pancake proceeded to score a bogey. This shortened Jeeravivitaporn’s deficit to 2-down at the halfway point as she looked to mount a comeback. After Pancake three-putted hole 11 and Jeeravivitaporn made a long birdie putt on the 12th, the match was suddenly tied.
Holes 13 and 14 remained tied, but then Jeeravivitaporn took her first lead of the match after Pancake three-putted hole 15.
“I thought it was uphill and hit the putt. I was like, ‘That was a really solid putt,’ and then I realized I just swung out way too hard,” said the Clemson University junior. “I think if it would have been a lot softer, it honestly might have gone in because I think it was turning towards the hole. It just had way too much pace.”
With three holes left, the championship match came down to the wire over the last two holes. Both players parred the par 5 16th hole. It was on hole 17 that finalized the champion.
Pancake’s birdie putt stopped just 2 feet short and once Jeeravivitaporn conceded the second putt, the stage was set for her victory. Her 10-footer sidehill putt inched closer to the cup, eventually disappearing and clinching the match.
For Jeeravivitaporn, this is her first college career title. Among her notable accomplishments, she led the Cyclones this past season with eight rounds in the 60s, 11 rounds under par and six top-10 individual finishes. Her team-leading season stroke average of 71.96 bumped her into the fourth-best career stroke average, 73.63, in Iowa State University history. She also individually qualified for the 2022 NCAA National Championship after tying for 10th place at the NCAA Stanford Regional.
The Cyclone credited her stronger mentality as what made the difference between her missing match play last year and winning the Championship title this year.
“Patience easily got me. [Now] when I play golf, I don't care about anything. If I lose, I lose, it's fine. Or sometimes in some tournament it’s like, ‘I have to get it back,’ and that’ll cause a lot of pressure on myself,” Jeeravivitaporn said. “But now it’s like, ‘I don't care about people outside.’ I just have to play my game. If I miss something, it's fine. I still have a chance to get it back.”
Two tournaments are held annually, the Amateur Championship has been held without interruption since 1901, not even two world wars and Covid-19 kept the tournament from being played. The Junior Championship was first held in 1920 and has been held annually with the exception of World War II and Covid-19. This year marks the 122nd playing of the Women's Western Amateur Championship at Sunset Ridge Country Club, the previous home to four previous WWGA Championships
1961 Women's Western Junior - Ann Baker
1953 Women's Western Junior - Anne Richardson
1942 Women's Western Amateur - Betty Jameson
1935 Women's Western Open - Opal Hill