Thai players to receive more spots at Honda LPGA

Thai players to receive more spots at Honda LPGA

The Honda LPGA Thailand will give more chances to local stars to play at its eighth edition next year, organisers said yesterday.

Thailand's premier women's golf tournament will be the third event of the 2014 LPGA Tour season and held at Siam Country Club in Pattaya from Feb 20-23.

The tournament features 70 players _ the top 60 on the money list and 10 exemptions _ with a total purse of US$1.5 million. A player who hits a hole-in-hole at the par-three 16th hole will get a Honda Accord worth 1.66 million baht.

Palakorn Somsuwan, managing director of Channel 7 and chairman of the organising committee, said that next year's edition will be more impressive, exciting and challenging.

"We will also give more opportunities to Thai players to play alongside the world's best players," he said.

Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co, the main sponsor of the event, has contributed one million baht to the Thailand Ladies Golf Association (Talga) to support its development programme to create young players.

Talga president Jittakarn Chandraviroj said that the funding meant a lot to the association in its efforts to hone local golfers.

Several young Thai players have played in the tournament including sisters Moriya and Ariya Jutanugarn.

Ariya came close to becoming the first Thai to win on the LPGA Tour at the 2013 Honda event when she blew a two-shot lead at the final hole to lose to South Korea's Park In-Bee.

Honda executive vice president Pitak Pruittisarikorn said there will be a Honda LPGA Thai fashion design contest with the winning entries to be shown and on auction at the Honda LPGA Charity Night during the tournament.

All proceeds from the event will go to Her Majesty the Queen's Silapacheep Foundation.

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