Maggie Simmermacher is taking a boost confidence into the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Series after her solid start to the 2022 season.
The 26-year-old finished second at last week’s Investec South African Women’s Open, where she lost out to home favourite Lee-Anne Pace in a six-hole playoff.
But despite missing out on victory, the Argentinian is looking forward to the next two weeks and is happy with how she has been playing.
“Last week gave me that last bit of confidence that my game is there, and I just need to trust it,” said Simmermacher, who is sixth in the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol. “We just started the season, but I’m happy with how my game is shaping up right now.
“I really want to get that win. I think it just wasn’t for me that week, I played great golf in the playoff and my putts didn’t drop. Lee-Anne [Pace] just saved everything, she played great golf.
“I just think it was meant to be for her. I’m really looking forward to trying to get that win and I hope I do it this season.”
This week Simmermacher will be hoping to continue her good form as she takes part in the co-sanctioned event between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour.
The Waterside Course at Siam Country Club plays host to the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup, which has a purse of USD $750,000, and sees 72 men and 72 women competing for the same trophy over four days.
And the 2020 Olympian is excited for her first experience in Thailand and enjoying being back at another mixed event, after playing the Scandinavian Mixed last year.
“I haven’t been to Thailand before and I’m feeling the humidity, but I am happy to be here,” she continued. “It is nice to get to know different cultures and different countries.
“I played in the Scandinavian Mixed last year, and it was a great format, and the course was set up perfectly for women and men. I hope it’s the same this week. I like the format; I think it’s a different atmosphere and you can compare your game with the men.”
England’s Alice Hewson finished as the top female in the inaugural Scandinavian Mixed where she placed third behind winner Jonathan Caldwell.
And the 24-year-old, who comes into the tournament in good form off the back of a T3 and T11 finish in South Africa, is relishing every moment of her first trip to Thailand.
“I’m so excited! The course is incredible this week and I’m absolutely loving it,” said Hewson. “It is my first-ever time in Thailand and I’m just really enjoying it so far.
“The course is in incredible condition, and they have also moved some tees already based on practice rounds because there are some tricky holes out there where it might not be driver off the tee, and you’re left with a longer shot in.
“I think the Tours are doing a really good job to balance the men’s and women’s side of it and have similar clubs into greens which I think will be really good for the tournament.”
Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson heads into this week as the leading player in the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol as she sits fifth after four events.
The 29-year-old is hoping for calmer conditions this week but is enjoying being back in Thailand and playing at Siam Country Club.
“It has been a few weeks in a row competing and I’m getting into playing,” said the Swede. “I do really like the course and I look forward to playing. I just have to handle the heat because it is a lot warmer than what we’re used to.
“It has been good to play in different countries on different courses, but it has been tough because it has been windy everywhere we have been so far. I do look forward to hopefully playing in some calmer conditions and seeing where the game is at when it is not that windy, and I tend to like these types of greens. It is fun to mix it up a bit and see some new faces!”
America’s Sihwan Kim is the leading male competing this week after he secured his breakthrough win at the International Series Thailand just over a month ago.
Kim is teeing it up alongside Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen and Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai at 11.52 local time and he was pleased with his consistency as well as victory.
“I just took a lot of confidence from the win,” said the 33-year-old. “Winning is good but I just need to keep on playing as well as I have been, it will be great to win more and finish number one on the Asian Tour Order of Merit but that comes in later in the year.
“I just plan to keep it in the fairway and stay hydrated. I don’t know how long this cool Pattaya weather will last but in Southeast Asian countries just keeping hydrated and getting some fuel and nutrition into you is very important.”
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