Coming off her first top-10 of the season at Mission Inn Resort and Club Championship, Prima Thammaraks will fight from behind for her first Epson Tour win from -10 overall, five shots back heading into Sunday at the Island Resort Championship.
“I played really well today and have been all week. I have been doing nothing exceptional. I started with a bogey on 11 which got me fired up a little bit,” said Thammaraks. “I birdied five holes after that, and it didn’t even feel like anything because it was straight forward fairway to green and one putting. I think there were some crucial moments where I might have had to hit a deep pocket with a layup and I did that really well which kept my momentum going too.”
Thammaraks has a few close friends currently competing on the LPGA Tour, including sisters Moriya and Ariya Jutanugarn. In the off weeks from the “Road to the LPGA”, Thammaraks has traveled to watch them and other friends compete. Last week she traveled to San Francisco to witness the 76th U.S. Women’s Open as a fan, and she left with a new outlook she has taken into this week.
“Olympic is a course where the players really had to be intentional with their shots and have a solid game plan going into the week. Seeing that and how they approached the course in that way, made me realize how intentional I wanted to be this week at Sweetgrass Golf Club,” said Thammaraks.
NOTABLE QUOTES
Sierra Brooks (-9, T4) on having her mom on the bag this week:
“Every week I have been feeling like it’s close it just hasn’t clicked all in the same week. Today every part of my game was really solid. I have been going around between different putters but this one has been stuck in the bag for a while now, so I feel confident with my bag setup, but besides that also just being able to as comfortable and relaxed as I can be out there.”
Maria Parra (-6, 6th) on building off momentum from making the cut at The Olympic Club:
“I was playing really good today, I hit good shots and made a lot of putts, but I missed putts also. I feel comfortable with the course now though, so I am ready for tomorrow. I played the U.S. Women’s Open last week, and my coach came with me. We made a few changes in my swing and like I said it’s feeling good now. It was amazing preparation for this week and I love this course it’s amazing shape.”
Hexi Yuan (-5, T7) on making eagle on No. 11:
“I had no idea, but I am so happy to hear that the tournament is doing that. I am really happy with how I played today, and this makes it even better.” (The Island Resort Championship’s Eagles for Charity program that donates $100 to both the player and to charity)