There is an unexpected leader after the first round of the ANA Inspiration on Thursday as Patty Tavatanakit of Bangkok, Thailand is all alone at -6. At 21 years of age, Tavatanakit is trying to continue Thailand’s excellence in women’s golf as of late. Ariya Jutanugarn of Bangkok is a two-time major winner and ranked 26th in the world, while her sister Moriya Jutanugarn is 43rd in the world.
In the opening 18 holes from Rancho Mirage, California, Tavatanakit had a bogeyless round. The product of UCLA collected six birdies as she finished one-under-par on the second, ninth, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 18th holes. On a side note, this is a big weekend for UCLA, as the Bruins are in the Final Four this weekend in Indiana. UCLA is up against the University of Gonzaga Bulldogs in the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball semi-final from Indianapolis on Saturday.
Getting back to the golf, Tavatanakit is part of a tight leaderboard with 15 golfers in contention. Leona Maguire of Ireland and Shanshan Feng of China are tied for second at -5. Then you have a four-way tie for fourth at -4 where you have both Jutanugarn sisters, Megan Khang of the United States and Anna Nordqvist of Sweden. After that, there is an eight-way tie for eighth at -3 where you have Americans Jessica Korda and Jennifer Kupcho, defending champion Mirim Lee of South Korea, another Korean in world number one Jin Young Ko, three Englishwomen in Georgia Hall, Charley Hull, and Bronte Law and Yuka Saso of the Philippines.
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