According to Ariya Jutanugarn, getting back to the top of the world rankings is “not that important.”
In fact, the Thai golfer believes that having fun and being happy is more important than pressuring herself to quickly regain the top spot.
Speaking in a press conference in the build-up to the beginning of the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic, Jutanugarn said: “To me, it’s not that important (to regain the number one spot) because of course everybody wants to be world No. 1.
“I think the most important thing right now is just like go out and have fun and be happy on the course and make sure I have a really good commitment.
“All the Thai people, they give me great support, even if I play bad or play good. I’m pretty sure they love to see my World Ranking to be really good, but also if not, I know they’re going to give me full support.”
These comments come just a few days after missing her first cut of the season at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. A six over par 77 in the first round left the world No. 2 with too much work to do in the second round and missed the cut by one, despite a three under par 68.
This however, gave Jutanugarn longer to prepare for her first appearance in Wisconsin.
Jutanugarn said: “I had lots of time last week. I know I had a bad day on Thursday, but I had a really good day on Friday.
“I'm really proud of myself to be trying to do my best and play better golf on Friday and be working on the same things. Just like last week, I didn't really have good commitment, so this week just work on trying to have a better commitment.”
With the inaugural event comes a brand-new course, which is also the home of the Green Bay Packers, and the six-time LPGA Tour winner isn’t sure what the winning score will be.
Jutanugarn said: “The course is in great shape and it’s a very good course, very challenging, and I feel like the first three holes are different than other holes.
“It feels like two courses here, because some holes have lots of trees and some holes just no trees.”
“I think this year is really, really competitive. Even when I played great golf, I still finished second or third. But it’s fun. It’s more fun because a lot of girls start to play so good and they become amazing golfers.
One player in the field looking to go lower than Airya is her older sister Moriya, who racked up four top-10s in a row previous to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
The Jutanugarn sisters rank first and second in birdies this season on the LPGA Tour, with Ariya currently sitting above her older sibling.
“I’m really, really happy for her because she’s a really good player, and she keeps playing so good,” added Jutanugarn.
“She works so hard, and she deserves to play good. Maybe she played one more tournament more than me but I still beat her with birdies though, so that’s a good thing.”
Ariya tees off her opening round at 8.47 a.m. from the 10th tee alongside Paula Creamer and In Gee Chun.
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