In the words of her caddie Charlie Ryan, it was a “pretty dang good” day.
A week after playing in the final grouping of the third round at the Amundi Evian Championship, Pajaree Anannarukarn matched the low score of the week at the ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf Management with a 7-under par 66 in the third round of the inaugural event. It’s the first time in her three-year career that the Thai has held or shared the 54-hole lead, as she joins Emma Talley and Jennifer Kupcho atop the leaderboard at 13-under overall.
Following consecutive rounds of 6-under par 65 in France, Anannarukarn went 1-over on moving day. It was a different story this time around in Northern Ireland.
“Honestly, I feel like I keep learning every week. Last week was special, playing in the final group [on Saturday] and then playing with Minjee [Lee on Sunday],” said Anannarukarn. “I learned a lot just hitting alongside her. What I learned most is being patient out there, trusting your process and keep doing you.
“I played good golf, but should have been better. Minjee, she’s really patient out there, every shot, and one shot at a time she does really well. She was really focused and concentrated on every shot. I think I learned because sometimes I wasn’t fully focused or committed.”
The 22-year-old is sure to take those lessons she witnessed from the most recent LPGA major champion into the final round at Galgorm Golf Club. Anannarukarn will also recall the comfort of competing with her good friend Atthaya Thitikul on Saturday. It was the first time that they played a competitive round in the same grouping since 2017 when the duo was members of the Thai national team.
“It was like junior golf, or something,” Anannarukarn said. “I’ve played with her many times, but this is the first time in a tournament [in four years]. After turning professional, we didn’t really see each other much because she’s out on the Ladies European Tour. We’ve played practice rounds and it’s always fun to play with her.”
)
)
)
)
