2023 Honda LPGA Thailand (Feb 23 - 26)

[18majors]

3 minutes ago, Stooch said:

IMO even leading at -12 if in the next 36 holes you have a 7-8 holes stretch of pars and you're probably done.

 

Nelly and Lydia suffered from that yesterday; Nelly was even par after Hole #10 and Lydia was +2 after Hole #11.

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, 8602081 said:

Is this a no-cut tournament?

 

Seems to be easy course compared to others..

 

 

Yes, it's a no cut event with a limited field. 

[AKL Kiwi]

On to moving day today and as I thought there were changes to the leaders from round 1. I expect that will be much the same today and agree with @Stooch it's unlikely someone will come from worse than -8 to win now. Again there was instances of the on screen scoreboard showing a player having completed a hole as they were still showing them playing the hole out. 

[ChronicSlicer]

2 hours ago, pmcuk said:

She's 29 so should have a few years of golf left if she chooses. 

According to a particular member here, at 26, female golfers are over the hill and on a downward spiral. If you believe this, she's toast.

 

 

[woahnelly]

Jeeno gonna mess around a shoot 63 today. 

[JungleJimbo]

2 hours ago, woahnelly said:

Jeeno gonna mess around a shoot 63 today. 

Wasn’t Jeeno known for slow starts… then some crazy-Low scores once the weekend starts? Kinda like a Fedex Cup handicap, to give chance to her competitors 

[Rapidcat]

2 hours ago, woahnelly said:

Jeeno gonna mess around a shoot 63 today. 

Always possible with her ball striking but she'll need to putt a hell of a lot better than her R1, that was terrible.

[AzRoger]

6 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

Nelly and Lydia suffered from that yesterday; Nelly was even par after Hole #10 and Lydia was +2 after Hole #11.

What tournament were you watching? Nelly and Lydia both played the first ten holes at 5 under, Lydia did have a double bogey on 17.

[JungleJimbo]

Is there something funky/neutered w.r.t. the setup of Hole #1 (Par 5) today? 

i.e. is it virtually a Par 4?
I  see both Vongtaveelap and Nelly started R3 with eagle 3's on this Par 5.

(along with various other folks making birdie 4's)
 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by JungleJimbo

[Rapidcat]

1 hour ago, Rapidcat said:

Always possible with her ball striking but she'll need to putt a hell of a lot better than her R1, that was terrible.

 

Looks like she's found a solution - just hit it to tap in distance 😄

[Rapidcat]

9 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

Is there something funky/neutered w.r.t. the setup of Hole #1 (Par 5) today? 

i.e. is it virtually a Par 4?
I  see both Vongtaveelap and Nelly started R3 with eagle 3's on this Par 5.

(along with various other folks making birdie 4's)

Maybe helping wind, looks more gusty out there today?

[JungleJimbo]

If you had access to a full-spread Thai buffet at the player lounge at the Honda LPGA ... would you be as disciplined as Hinako Shibuno w.r.t. salad leaves and chicken noodle soup?

 

Or would you make a bee-line for the green chicken curry... pad thai ... fish cake (tod mun pla)... mango sticky rice ... and the "Red Ruby" dessert? 

Does anybody remember the "Rory McIlroy food poisoning story in Shanghai hotel":
"Rory McIlroy gets food poisoning from a club sandwich, regrets not going for the baked eel": https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/rory-mcilroy-gets-food-poisoning-from-a-club-sandwich-regrets-not-going-for-the-baked-eel-a6722116.html 

(moral of the story = Even in a 5-star hotel... the raw salad in the club sandwich = more likely to give you food poisoning... vs the fully-cooked seemingly 'exotic' local food?)
 

 

 

[Rapidcat]

11 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

If you had access to a full-spread Thai buffet at the player lounge at the Honda LPGA ... would you be as disciplined as Hinako Shibuno w.r.t. salad leaves and chicken noodle soup?

 

Or would you make a bee-line for the green chicken curry... pad thai ... fish cake (tod mun pla)... mango sticky rice ... and the "Red Ruby" dessert? 

Does anybody remember the "Rory McIlroy food poisoning story in Shanghai hotel":
"Rory McIlroy gets food poisoning from a club sandwich, regrets not going for the baked eel": https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/rory-mcilroy-gets-food-poisoning-from-a-club-sandwich-regrets-not-going-for-the-baked-eel-a6722116.html 

(moral of the story = Even in a 5-star hotel... the raw salad in the club sandwich = more likely to give you food poisoning... vs the fully-cooked seemingly 'exotic' local food?)
 

 

 

Great post 😄

 

Rory can do well to realise that he isn't all knowing, got too much to say for himself currently, should quietly go about winning his first major in 9 seasons (I realise it's 2015 for his food issue here). Just my bias towards him currently.

 

Rule of thumb for western guts not acclimatised to Asian bugs - bottled water only and no salad as it will be washed in tap water.

 

I wouldn't do a Shibuno, would go curry et al every day but skip the deserts, they're in the main underwhelming.

[imkirby34]

I'm not an adventurous eater by nature, but I like Thai food, so I definitely would've gone for the local cuisine.  As for the Rory incident, I like unagi, but just because the hotel in Shanghai calls it "Japanese Baked Eel" doesn't necessarily mean it was unagi.  Heh.  I might've opted for the club sandwich, too.  

 

As for the Day 3 coverage, there was a Saki Baba sighting.  Unfortunately, I only saw the rebroadcasts of Days 1 & 2 and freely admit that I didn't want every minute of it, so I don't know if she was shown on either of those days.  She's tied with Hinako and Hasa, among others after Day 3.  

 

The grouping of Nelly, Jenny Shin, and EKP, just couldn't seem to build any momentum.

[JungleJimbo]

On 2/22/2023 at 3:55 AM, 8602081 said:

Got to go with Atthaya Thitikul..

 

It's in Thailand..

 

@Thayneil

@8602081  and @Golf Dino's picks = leading (or strongly chasing, in the case of Atthaya Thitikul) after R3!

 

(With an Honourable mention to @woahnelly for predicting Jeeno's super-low score today!)

 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/sports/2514866/young-thai-stars-on-birdie-binge-in-pattaya

  

12 hours ago, woahnelly said:

Jeeno gonna mess around a shoot 63 today. 

 

 

 

 

 

On 2/22/2023 at 10:18 PM, Thayneil said:

look out for  no 68 on list Natakrita (sp)  she will be longest in the field by some distance i think

 

I will be there tomorrow watching

 

free tickets for  over 60 s and  free parking too!

 

On 2/11/2023 at 9:25 AM, Golf Dino said:

As for a pick, I think Atthaya has to be a favourite.

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by JungleJimbo

[Rapidcat]

What a fantastic day of golf, had almost everything you'd want across a raft of players.

 

Also, how engaged has this large crowd been, again and literally fantastic.

[Rapidcat]

Top 4 of leaderboard: 2 Thais, 1 Thai-heritage, 1 Vietnamese-heritage.

[Thayneil]

13 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

@Thayneil

@8602081  and @Golf Dino's picks = leading (or strongly chasing, in the case of Atthaya) after R3!

Did anyone here pick Celine Boutier?

 

 

 

 

 

only 1  winner she plays a different game.

 

13 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

 

 

 

 

[Thayneil]

Just now, Thayneil said:

 

 

only one winner she plays a different game

 

I watched her last year in the Asian Am at Siam waterside which is  less than 1 km  from the Old course

 

Can see her being leader of  Order of Merit at end of season

[pmcuk]

WTF - Vongtaveelap, and that's only half her name. 

 

If she becomes a LPGA star she'll need a nickname! 

 

Great rounds of golf! Can she win?

[Thayneil]

12 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Yes, it's a no cut event with a limited field. 

course is easier  than  when average players play it

 

tees up  on par 3s  plus  15th is short plus the last is  435/480 not 530

 

Black tees is  well over 7000 yards

 

Par  72  but really  69 or 68 

 

90F  and light winds also  help the scoring

 

 

[Thayneil]

11 minutes ago, pmcuk said:

WTF - Vongtaveelap, and that's only half her name. 

 

If she becomes a LPGA star she'll need a nickname! 

 

Great rounds of golf! Can she win?

i think she will win by 6

 

she is that good

[JungleJimbo]

1 hour ago, Thayneil said:

only one winner she plays a different game

 

I watched her last year in the Asian Am at Siam waterside which is  less than 1 km  from the Old course

 

Can see her being leader of  Order of Merit at end of season

@Thayneil I'm guessing if you're based in Thailand... then you are proficient/semi-proficient w.r.t. understanding Thai?

I've just realised that the Honda LPGA Thailand's twitter (seemingly bi-lingual) sometimes has different text for the English/Thai components of their tweets i.e. not direct translations / tweaked for local audience.

 

e.g. Vongtaveelap = referred to as “โปรซิม” ("Pro SIM" ... or "โปรซิม300"/"ProSIM300" ... "ProSIM S̄ām r̂xy" )

... just like Ariya = "Pro May"

i.e. usually referred to by their nicknames! ( @coops kindly "farang-explained(?)" this to me, in a previous related Thailand golf thread here)

 

...and her Sponsor's invite wasn't handed to her on a silver platter... i.e. there was a intra-Thailand national qualifier in Jan2023 (69 participants)... and Vongtaveelap won the qualifier by 1 stroke (i'm relying on Google Translate... so not 100% sure?).

 

@Thayneil Another Question: Does Vongtaveelap regularly wear a face covering whilst golfing?  (a'la a "mini Hyo Joo Kim"! @Rapidcat) (It looks like she did so, during the Thai Qualifiers!)  

   

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by JungleJimbo

[Rapidcat]

@JungleJimbo face covering? That won't resonate with western audiences in the slightest.

[Thayneil]

3 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

@Thayneil I'm guessing if you're based in Thailand... then you are proficient/semi-proficient w.r.t. understanding Thai?

I've just realised that the Honda LPGA Thailand's twitter (seemingly bi-lingual) sometimes has different text for the English/Thai components of their tweets i.e. not direct translations / tweaked for local audience.

 

e.g. Vongtaveelap = referred to as “โปรซิม” ("Pro SIM" ... or "โปรซิม300"/"ProSIM300" ... "ProSIM S̄ām r̂xy" )

... just like Ariya = "Pro May"

i.e. usually referred to by their nicknames! ( @coops kindly "farang-explained(?)" this to me, in a previous related Thailand golf thread here)

 

...and her Sponsor's invite wasn't handed to her on a silver platter... i.e. there was a intra-Thailand national qualifier in Jan2023 (69 participants)... and Vongtaveelap won the qualifier by 1 stroke (i'm relying on Google Translate... so not 100% sure?).

 

@Thayneil Another Question: Does Vongtaveelap regularly wear a face covering whilst golfing?  (a'la a "mini Hyo Joo Kim"! @Rapidcat) (It looks like she did so, during the Thai Qualifiers!)  

   

 

 

 

 

i am based in Thailand but dont speak Thai

 

no face covering last few days but  smog is  getting worse  air quality is poor

 

I am thinking about moving to  an island Koh Samui  about 700kms from Bk

 

 

[Thayneil]

5 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

@Thayneil I'm guessing if you're based in Thailand... then you are proficient/semi-proficient w.r.t. understanding Thai?

I've just realised that the Honda LPGA Thailand's twitter (seemingly bi-lingual) sometimes has different text for the English/Thai components of their tweets i.e. not direct translations / tweaked for local audience.

 

e.g. Vongtaveelap = referred to as “โปรซิม” ("Pro SIM" ... or "โปรซิม300"/"ProSIM300" ... "ProSIM S̄ām r̂xy" )

... just like Ariya = "Pro May"

i.e. usually referred to by their nicknames! ( @coops kindly "farang-explained(?)" this to me, in a previous related Thailand golf thread here)

 

...and her Sponsor's invite wasn't handed to her on a silver platter... i.e. there was a intra-Thailand national qualifier in Jan2023 (69 participants)... and Vongtaveelap won the qualifier by 1 stroke (i'm relying on Google Translate... so not 100% sure?).

 

@Thayneil Another Question: Does Vongtaveelap regularly wear a face covering whilst golfing?  (a'la a "mini Hyo Joo Kim"! @Rapidcat) (It looks like she did so, during the Thai Qualifiers!)  

   

 

 

 

 

yes correct  Police chiefs politicians  doctors etc all can be addressed by their  first name

 

The prefix  Khun  can be used  in front of the  first name  but surnames are never used  as it signifies lower status

[JungleJimbo]

25 minutes ago, Thayneil said:

i think she will win by 6

 

she is that good

If Vongtaveelap wins this Honda LPGA Thailand 

(🤞anti-jinx! 🙊🚫🤬)

...and proceeds to have a barnstorming 'Tiger-esque' rookie season... 

How long do you think that "Korean BBQ" logo on her right shoulder will remain

... or will that logo be replaced with a swoosh (or 3-stripes) pretty quickly?

 

1 hour ago, Thayneil said:

only one winner she plays a different game

 

I watched her last year in the Asian Am at Siam waterside which is  less than 1 km  from the Old course

 

Can see her being leader of  Order of Merit at end of season

 

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by JungleJimbo

[18majors]

It's hard to comprehend what's happening in Thailand, but Barron's did a good job:

Local Rookie Extends Surprise Lead At LPGA Thailand

 

"She is four strokes ahead of her nearest rival, compatriot Atthaya Thitikul, who is a former world number one and was runner-up in the 2021 edition of the tournament.

Atthaya also carded 64 on Saturday including nine birdies.

"I have more confidence today," Atthaya said, adding that she felt in a zone on the course and was not overthinking her game.

Top-ranked Ko, a New Zealander who has been in red-hot form, is seven shots off the lead and sharing seventh spot with three players including Nelly Korda, the American world number two.

"It was obviously a little bit difficult today with the wind being a little bit breezier," said the 25-year-old Ko, who added that maintaining patience would be key on the final day.

"I'm just going to stick to my own game plan."

It was a topsy-turvy day for Korda, with an eagle and six birdies but five bogies littering her score sheet.

"The bad was very bad today and then the good was pretty good, so I had a nice combo of both," the 24-year-old said."

 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by 18majors

[18majors]

 

[OnTheBag]

31 minutes ago, 18majors said:

It's hard to comprehend what's happening in Thailand, but Barron's did a good job:

Local Rookie Extends Surprise Lead At LPGA Thailand

This is called being in the zone.  It happens from time to time that a player simply can't miss for several rounds.  Before we anoint her as the next anything, let's see her under pressure several weeks in a row.  

 

Happy for her and enjoying the enthusiasm.  But pump the breaks on any superlatives.  The annals of golf history are littered with players that won 1 or 2 or 3 times in their career.

 

Enjoy her play for what it is.....a high level of golf.  Let's have this discussion in a few months if she is still in the mix.