Winner of the ANA Inspiration earlier in the year, Patty Tavatanakit becomes the first rookie on the LPGA Tour to win a major tournament since Juli Inkster in 1984. She is the recipient of the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award.

© Twitter Patty Tavatanakit

At 22, Patty Tavatanakit is already a major winner, having won the ANA Inspiration in April. With two more tournaments to play and 1134 points in the standings designating the rookie of the year, her closest pursuer Leona Maguire is 355 points behind, a delay that she will not be able to make up. The Thai woman therefore won the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year ranking. “Winning this title is a dream come true. This season is a season to remember and I am excited to finish this 2021 season as the new Tour Rookie of the Year ”.

After being educated in the United States and achieving brilliant results in college tournaments, Patty Tavatanakit turned professional in 2019. The Thai woman finished second in the Symetra Tour Order of Merit and earned a card on the LPGA Tower. In that season in the US Second Division, she scored three wins and was named Rookie of the Year.

She won her first major in early April 2021: the ANA Inspiration. Leader from the evening of the first round, she will no longer leave the top of the leaderboard for the week. Starting with five strokes in the last lap, she will resist Lydia Ko's charge to win with two strokes. She becomes the first rookie to win one of the grand slam tournaments since Juli Inkster in 1984.

In addition to her victory in major, the Thai signed eight top 10 on the LPGA Tour in 2021. She also represented Thailand at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, finishing in 23rd place.

This year of exceptional rookie will have enabled her to reach the world top 10 in May: she is currently 12th world player in the Rolex Rankings.

She becomes the second Thai to obtain this title after Moriya Jutanugarn in 2013.

She will receive her award at the Rolex LPGA 2021 Awards Ceremony which will take place on November 18 at the Tiburon Golf Club.

By Baptiste Laurensou.

To find the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year ranking: click here.