Paula Creamer
All roads will lead to Thailand this week as the top 50 lady professional golfers from the LPGA money list including Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Tseng Yani, Shin Jiyai, Choi Na Yeon, and the defending champion Ai Miyazato, plus all five LPGA’s “Best of 2010” play the Honda LPGA Thailand 2011 at Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course alongside with four Thai golfers, Pornanong Phatlum, Ariya Juthanugarn, and two winners from Honda qualifying tournament.
Honda Automobile, BBTV Channel 7 and IMG are proud to announce the development of the fifth edition of Honda LPGA Thailand, one of the premier ladies professional golf tournaments in the region. The tournament featuring a 60-player field comprising of the top 50 players on the LPGA Money list and 10 sponsors' invites competing in a 72-hole stroke play with no cut for the purse prize of US$ 1.45 million.
Atsushi Fujimoto, President of Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co. Ltd., revealed, “We can expect a thrilling and exciting play with highly-respected players such as Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie from the USA, world’s No. 1 Jiyai Shin and last year LPGA’s money winner Na Yeon Choi from South Korea, and defending champion Ai Miyazato from Japan who have all confirmed to play Honda LPGA Thailand.”
This tournament also gives young Thai golfers an opportunity to play with world-class players and raise their standard of golf. This year, four Thais have been invited by Honda to compete in the tournament. Among the Thais selected are Pornanong Phatlum, the only Thai professional player who made the final round of the LPGA qualifying tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida, held last December, and Ariya Jutanugarn, currently Thailand’s best female amateur player. Jutanugarn first took part in the Honda LPGA Thailand when she was only 11 years old, is making her third appearance in the tournament as a sponsor invite,” Mr. Fujimoto added.
To spice up the competition, a Honda Accord 2.0 EL worth 1,280,000 baht will be awarded to the first pro who makes a hole-in-one on the Par-3, 16th Hole.
