Thailand’s Pavarisa Yoktuan became the only player in the field this week at the Buick LPGA Shanghai to record three consecutive rounds in the 60s when she carded a 3-under 69 on Moving Day at Qizhong Garden Golf Club. The 29-year-old opened her week in the People’s Republic of China with a pair of 68s to sit at 8-under and two back of the lead heading into the third round. She began her day with three consecutive pars before grabbing birdies on holes 4 and 6 to get to 10-under overall. Yoktuan birdied again on the par-4 8th hole but tripped up with a bogey on No. 9 to turn in 34, going birdie-bogey on 10 and 11 to remain at 10-under with seven holes to play.
A birdie on the par-5 13th hole got Yoktuan back to 11-under for the tournament, and she then bookended a pair of birdies on 16 and 17 with a couple of bogeys on 15 and 18 to ultimately finish her round at 3-under and sit at 11-under overall, one back of the lead held by Maja Stark and Angel Yin. It’s the first time since the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain in March that the LPGA Tour veteran has recorded three straight rounds in the 60s, and it’s the first time in her LPGA Tour career that she has carded three consecutive sub-70 scores in the first, second and third rounds.
Yoktuan credits feeling comfortable competing in the People’s Republic China as the reason for her strong performance through 54 holes and said she and her caddie, Pennapa Pulsawath, really just focused on her commitment to each shot, an easy thing to do considering how well she had been striking it throughout the week.
“I didn't put a lot of pressure on myself. I just go out there and play,” said Yoktuan, who 7 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens on Saturday. “Me and my caddie talk a lot that just go play your good golf, because the past two days I've been hitting my iron pretty good, so just commit to it and don't expect, look at the leaderboard. Just go play your own game.
“Me and my other friend, we used to play in China. It's like going back to your home course and home country, but it feels comfortable because you know all the conditions of the golf course. I play here almost ten years ago, but I don't remember much, but it just suits my eyes, plus my shot is very good this week.”
Unlike most players at the top of the Buick LPGA Shanghai leaderboard, Yoktuan came into this event on the top-100 bubble in the Race to the CME Globe, ranked 98th in the points standings. Players who finish outside the top 100 in the Race to the CME Globe will not have full LPGA Tour Membership for the 2024 season, so with just a handful of regular-season events left on the 2023 schedule, Yoktuan knew she would have to pull out all the stops to retain her status next year and to avoid a trip to LPGA Q-Series for the second year in a row.
She also wants to play her way into the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, a feat that will require Yoktuan to finish inside the top 60 in the Race to the CME Globe, another tall order considering that she would need to move up 38 spots in the standings to qualify. But so far, through 54 holes at Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Yoktuan has both of those goals well within reach as well as a shot at becoming the season’s 12th Rolex First-Time Winner, an accomplishment that would secure her status for the immediate future and take the pressure off as she competes in the final events of the year.
“My caddie is also my manager, and she just caddie for me for the last five events. Before we work together, we talk about like we want to be in CME, so it's not only like to be in the top 100, but to put yourself in a better position,” Yoktuan explained. “I know that I can do it. I know that I have the shot. I have the putt. So just go do your thing and commit to everything that you've been doing. I (didn’t) really start my year bad. I started pretty good, but then a little bit rough in the middle. So, when we start working together, just focus on the end of the year, like try to do my best to get in CME.”
And with that elusive first victory well within reach, Yoktuan knows that if she controls what she can on Sunday in Shanghai, the final result should take care of itself. “I think I just do the same thing, what I've been doing the past three days. Not think about whether I win or not,” she said. “It doesn't matter as long as I'm happy my golf game. Whatever I finish, I'm just happy to be here, and I'm happy with my golf game for the past three days.”
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