It’s déjà vu for Patty Tavatanakit.
A week after holding the three-shot lead heading into the final day of her victory at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International on the Ladies European Tour, Tavatanakit has kept the momentum through 54 holes at the Honda LPGA Thailand to again take a three-shot advantage with one round to go at Siam Country Club Old Course. The Thai native shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday to make it three-straight rounds in the 60s, the first time she’s done so since 2021, and stands ahead the 72-player field at -16.
Tavatanakit has an impressive front-nine holes to thank for her stellar Saturday, after going 6-under through her first seven holes that saw four birdies and an eagle on No. 7. A bogey on No. 11 was cancelled out by her final birdie of the round on No. 15, as she remains in prime position to become the second Thai player to win in her native country since the tournament’s inception in 2006.
“I'm really proud of my performance today. It's getting very tiring, exhausting in the heat. I'm just going to conserve my energy and take on the challenge tomorrow,” said said Tavatanakit, who became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2021 Chevron Championship as a rookie on Tour. “Feel like last week gave me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. I'm not saying I'm going to guarantee the result right away, but there is a lot of positives and a lot of good things to look at the past seven rounds I've played. So I'm just going to have fun, stay present, and be very, very busy with my process.”
Sitting behind Tavatanakit in solo second at -13 is 36-hole co-leader Madelene Sagstrom, who got off to a hot start with birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 before two bogeys on 4 and 7 had her turn at even-par. She grinded for another birdie on No. 11, and Sagstrom’s eagle on the closing hole brought her right back into the fray as she goes for her first win since January of 2020.
“I think you kind of know that to really have a chance for tomorrow you have to play good golf,” said Sagstrom. “You don't really do that by comparing yourself to somebody else or trying to react on their games. All I need to do is get my own zone and out of my own way.”
Hye-Jin Choi and Emily Kristine Pedersen both recorded 7-under 65s to make the most of Moving Day, and sit in a tie for third with major champion and six-time Tour winner Hyo Joo Kim (-12). Choi and Pedersen are both looking to become the first Rolex First-Time Winners of 2024 and know it will take a day of fantastic golf to surpass Tavatanakit’s dominating play of late.
“I want to keep the foot on the gas. I played with [Tavatanakit] on Sunday in that final round in Saudi and she just played unbelievable that day,” said Pedersen, who finished T6 at last week’s LET event. “But I do believe I can play like that myself and hopefully I can do that tomorrow.”
Five players round out the top 10 in a tie for sixth at -11, including major champions Sei Young Kim, Brooke Henderson and Ariya Jutanugarn, who won the 2021 edition of the Thai tournament. Among the tried and true veterans is Suvichaya Vinijchaitham, an amateur sponsor exemption who gained entry into the Honda LPGA Thailand through the National Qualifier in January. Making her debut, the 17-year-old hotshot carded a 5-under 67, her second round in the 60s this week, as she looks to make the most of her first LPGA Tour experience.
“[The past three days] were great for me because on the first day I didn't expect that much that I'm going to hit it good. I just going to feel like safe, you know. But after the round three I was like, wow, this is amazing. How can I do it?” said Vinijchaitham.
Last year’s runner-up Natthakritta Vongtaveelap is one of five players tied for 10th (-10), while defending champion Lilia Vu continues to silently rise through the leaderboard after rebounding from a first-round 73 with back-to-back 67s in Chonburi.
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