Preview & 4 to watch for the LET & LET Access events this week.
Ladies European Thailand Championship (LET)
Date: 20/06/19
Location: Thailand
Course: Phoenix Gold Golf & Country Club - Mountain+Ocean
Prize Fund: €300,000
Defending Champion: Kanyalak Preedasuttijit (Thailand) -15
The European Tour leaves Europe for now and heads to Thailand and the return of the Ladies European Thailand Championship at the Phoenix Gold Golf & Country Club which for the last 2 years has been won by Thai players in Kanyalak Preedasuttijit & Atthaya Thitikul. This year sees a number of players coming into the tournament in good form, the battle in Thailand is who can handle the conditions. There are also valuable Solheim Cup points on offer as well. Below we look at 4 players who could be lifting the trophy this week.
Chonlada Chayanun (Thailand)
Chonlada currently leads the Order of Merit on the Thai LPGA. In this event last year she finished third on -10. She is also playing on the China LPGA and has a best finish of 4th this season at the Beijing Ladies Classic. Currently Chonlada is 10th place on the Chinese Order of Merit.
Chondla graduated from Iowa State in America and is currently ranked 217th in the world. This week she said "My previous results in this tournament were quite good. I already practiced at the course for this year's tournament." The 24-year-old, who is from Nakhon Ratchasima and who won a Thai LPGA title this year, went on to say "the Thailand Championship is one of the biggest women's tournaments in the country which attracts a large number of local and foreign players and my goal is to get a better result this year,"
Esther Henseleit (Germany)
Last week on the LET Access Esther finally picked up her first professional win after so many near misses this year! She won the Skafto Open title, after an exceptional five-under-par round of 64. The 20-year-old finished the tournament on –11, one shot clear of Sweden’s Lynn Carlsson.
It has been a great 3 weeks for Esther. She has led at the US Open with a good first round before finishing 30th. 2 weeks ago she took part in the exciting golf 6s where she just missed out in making the knockout stages after loosing out in a nearest the hole playoff against the Australian men.
This year she has had a worst finish of 26th on the LET. She has had 7 top 10's in her 9 starts! Esther is currently 3rd on the Order of Merit and leading the rookie of the year race.
up to 168th in the world, yet to win on the LET could this be the place to do it?
Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand)
14-year-old Atthaya won this tournament 2 years ago, now aged 16 she is one of the best amateurs in the world and a name most people now know in golf. Currently ranked 5th in the world she has had another good season so far this year winning the Thai Amateur title.
In 2018 she won the inaugural Womens Pacific Amateur Open title in Singapore. This earned her a place at the LPGA HSBC world championship, which was played the following week. Despite being only 15-years of age she finished in 8th with Michelle Wie winning.
In 2018, Atthaya played at the Women’s British Open. Being the only amateur to make the cut, she was presented with the Salver which made her the second youngest ever winner of the trophy.
Arpichaya Yubol (Thailand)
One of our "10 players to watch for 2019" Yubol had a great season last year winning 5 tournaments in a row and clinching the Order of Merit title on the Thai LPGA. Yubol is currently 4th in this years Order of Merit and has had one win claiming the Manilia Golf Ladies Masters.
The 17 year old said this week, "It is a good tournament for Thai players to hone their skills before going to a bigger stage. I am confident that I can do better than last year. I have been practicing at the course for over a month." Now ranked 405th in the world she finished 5th here last year on -8.
Don't forget to enter our prediction game on our Instagram, twitter or facebook simply comment on the link below with who you think will win the event. Golfista this week are going for Chonlada to claim the win.
Montauban Ladies Open (LET Access)
Date: 20/06/19
Location: France
Course: Golf de Montauban l´Estang, Montauban,
Prize Fund: € 50,000
Rounds: Three
The LET Access Series returns again this week moving from Sweden where Ester Henseleit picked up her first pro win. This week we move to France where things are hotting up in the Order of Merit. A number of players are vying for a spot in the top 5 and it should prove to be an exciting tournament especially with the mix of good young amateurs on show. Below we look at 4 players who could do well here this week.
Greta Isabella Voelker (Germany)
Great won the Neuchatel Ladies Championship earlier this year. She has only played in 3 events on Access Series so far and along with her win has had an 11th place finish at the VP Bank Ladies Open and missed the cut at the Jabra Ladies Open.These results currently put her 11th on the Order of Merit and 672nd in the world. She could bounce back to form here in France.
Charlotte Leathem (England)
Charlotte finished 4th last week in Sweden 4 shots behind the eventual winner in a very strong LET Access field. She should take lots of confidence into this week after her best ever finish. Currently 37th on the Order of Merit but will look to move towards the top 10 as the season goes on. This is her first year as a pro and up to 797th in the world rankings.
Can she pick up her first win here?
Anais Meyssonnie (France)
Anais is currently 5th on the Order of Merit on the LET Access and has a best finish this year of 3rd place at the Neuchatel Ladies Championship. She finished a good 47th at the Jabra Ladies Open (a joint event with the LET Tour) She has been consistent only missing one cut all year. Now 739th in the Rolex Rankings, can she take victory on home soil?
Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir (Iceland)
Gudrun has a best of Best of 7th this year finishing there in both the VP Bank Ladies Open and the Lavaux Ladies Championships. She missed the cut last week with rounds of 71 and 72 in Sweden but will look to bounce back here this week. Currently 53rd on the Order of Merit and 803rd in the world.