After collecting her first worldwide victory since the 2021 Chevron Championship last week on the Ladies European Tour, Patty Tavatanakit is once again in the hunt this week at the Honda LPGA Thailand. She opened with a near-perfect 5-under 67 at Siam Country Club’s Old Course on Thursday, a round in which she made one bogey and six birdies, three of which came consecutively on holes 16, 17 and 18.
Friday saw more of the same for Tavatanakit as she recorded another 67 in the second round with one bogey and six birdies on the scorecard, a performance that propelled her up the leaderboard and into a share of first with 36 holes to play in Chonburi, Thailand.
The 24-year-old Thailand native got off to a rocky start on day two with a bogey on the par-5 1st hole, but she recovered immediately, erasing that mistake with a birdie on the second. She parred three and then picked up a pair of back-to-back birdies on holes four and five before making one last front-nine birdie on the par-5 7th hole to turn in 33 at 8-under overall.
Tavatanakit was much quieter on the back nine, grabbing a birdie at the par-5 10th hole before making seven straight pars from holes 11 to 17. She squeezed in one last birdie on the par-5 18th hole to cap off her second consecutive 67, post at 10-under overall and hold the third 36-hole lead/co-lead of her LPGA Tour career.
“It was a really solid day again today,” said Tavatanakit, who hit 12 of 14 fairways, 14 of 18 greens and 27 putts in the second round. “I feel like putts were rolling in earlier during the round, which helped a lot. Got a little stalled on the back nine, but managed to score on the par 5s, which I’m really happy about.”
This is the first time that Tavatanakit has opened with two rounds of 67 or better since she recorded back-to-back 64s in the first and second rounds of the 2021 Honda LPGA Thailand. Her 36-hole score of 134 is her third-lowest two-round total on the LPGA Tour, and it’s the first time since the 2021 ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican that Tavatanakit has posted a score of 134 or better for 36 holes.
With all of the positive momentum generated from her win at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International last week and after a strong showing in her first two rounds at the Old Course, Tavatanakit has to be feeling as confident as ever heading into the weekend at the Honda LPGA Thailand.
But having a lot of success can also be tiring as a professional golfer, so Tavatanakit is putting a premium on rest as she readies herself for another weekend in contention, mentally and physically preparing herself for the next 36 holes in Thailand as she works to track down her second career LPGA Tour title in front of a home-country crowd.
“I feel a little bit more fatigue coming off a strong play last week,” said Tavatanakit. “Used a lot of the adrenaline back there. It's only Friday, and it's really hot, and my body feels like it needs a lot of rest, so I'm going to go ahead and do that. I am sure the golf will just take care of itself. I really like taking care of my body.”
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