Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: With her second-place finish at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, Atthaya Thitikul clinched the Ladies European Tour’s (LET) Order of Merit crown.
In her first full season on the LET, the 18-year-old Thai has been a model of consistency, securing the 2021 Race to Costa del Sol title with two events remaining on the calendar.
Winner of the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in 2018, Atthaya becomes the youngest winner of the LET accolade. surpassing Charley Hull’s previous mark.
The Thai teenager finished outside the top-10 on only three occasions in individual events in 2021 and claimed victories at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open and VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open.
“It is an honour to win the Race to Costa del Sol this year,” said Atthata. “Words can’t describe how I’m feeling. It is really great to win the title and it is amazing for me!”
Atthaya, who holds the record as the youngest winner on the LET at 14 years, four months and 19 days, also follows in the footsteps of Dame Laura Davies, Carlota Ciganda and Esther Henseleit by winning both the Race to Costa del Sol and Rookie of the Year titles in the same season.
The four-time LET winner, who has risen from 308 to 24 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, is also the first player from her homeland to win the season-long crown and the third winner from Asia.
“Last year I stayed at home with the pandemic, and I didn’t play on Tour after February. I practiced at home and worked really hard, and I think it has paid off this year. To have won the title in my rookie year is great,” she added.
“It is the first year that I have been away from home for three or four months. It has been tough, but it has been an experience I can learn from. I have travelled without my parents, usually my dad always travels with me, but I have been here with my manager and my caddie. I feel really grateful to be out here and competing in international tournaments.”
Atthaya returned to the LET in June finishing tied for sixth at the Jabra Ladies Open and followed that with a joint 65th finish at the Scandinavian Mixed before winning her first title of 2021 in the Czech Republic.
From then the rising star had a phenomenal run of form with six results in the top five including fifth place at The Amundi Evian Championship.
A tied 48th finish at the AIG Women’s Open was only Atthaya’s second result outside the top-10. After that she finished joint sixth at the Didriksons Skafto Open and third at the Creekhouse Ladies Open.
Atthaya rounded off the summer in Switzerland, where she clinched her second title of the year, before heading home to Thailand on a high.
After some time off, she returned refreshed at the Dubai Moonlight Classic finishing in 14th place before her runner-up finish in Saudi Arabia gave her an unassailable lead in the rankings.
“I don’t think about how many victories I have. I just try to improve my game and focus on that because you can’t win every week. Getting better every single day is what I am trying to do,” she said.
“I know all the Thai fans back home have been really cheering me on and I’m the only player from Thailand to solely play on the LET. It’s great to have them cheering me on and supporting me whatever happens.”