Ariya named among Forbes' Asian stars

Ariya named among Forbes' Asian stars

Golfer Ariya Jutanugarn is among Forbes' impressive young Asians.

The 21-year-old is the only Thai on the "30 Under 30 Asia: Entertainment & Sports" list published on its website www.forbes.com. She is also on the "30 Under 30 Asia: Pinoneer Women" list.

The magazine said Ariya made history last year when she became the first Thai golfer, male or female, to win a major golf championship with her triumph at the 2016 Women's British Open.

The record-breaking golfer won the 2016 LPGA player of the year award and is currently ranked third in the world.

Still the only Thai champion on the LPGA Tour, Ariya has won over US$3 million in prize money.

Last year, the player from Bangkok also received a $1 million bonus for winning the season-long Race to CME Globe.

Having claimed five titles last year, Ariya has not yet won a tournament this season but has finished runner-up twice. She was tied for seventh at last week's Lotte Championship.

Nicknamed 'May', Ariya began her rise in May last year when she swept all LPGA three titles in that month.

Ariya has set her sights on dethroning world No.1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand. However, she suffered a blow earlier this month when she dropped to third in the rankings.

She has been overtaken by Korean Ryu So-Yeon who jumped to second after her win at the ANA Inspiration.

The other athletes on the list in the entertainment and sports category include Olympic swimming gold medallist Joseph Schooling of Singapore, Japanese football star Shinji Kagawa of German club Borussia Dortmund, South Korean footballer Son Heung-Min of English side Tottenham Hotspur, Olympic badminton champion Chen Long of China, India's first Paralympic swimmer Sharath Gayakwad and Dipa Karmakar, the first Indian female gymnast to ever compete in the Olympics.

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