Thailand’s Chonlada Chayanun set the clubhouse target with a four-under-par 68 early on day one of the inaugural Ladies European Thailand Championship at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Pattaya.
The 24-year-old from Nakhonrachasrima, nicknamed ‘Koi’, who was a 2015 ISU Athlete of the Year at Iowa State University in the United States, birdied the par-4 fifth, sixth and 10th holes in fine conditions and quickly moved ahead at three-under.
Although she carded one blemish on the par-4 11th, she then birdied the long 13th and short 16th before ending her round with two solid pars.
“My driver was really good. I hit 13 fairways today and missed only one, which is on hole 18. I hit 14 greens and made all the up and downs. My putting was good and I had 30 putts, but it could have been better,” she said afterwards.
“I’ve never played this course before, so it’s my first time here. If you hit the ball in the rough, it’s a little harder and if you don’t know the greens, that could be tough too, as the greens are a little tricky. On some holes, where I didn’t know the break, I just hit it straight at the hole, and the ball went in. I don’t have any expectations here. I don’t want to put pressure on myself, so I’ll just try to do my best.”
