Exciting Pattaya Finale for Faldo Series Thailand

Pattaya, Thailand (January 23): A thrilling climax is in store at this week’s Faldo Series Pattaya Championship, the final leg of the inaugural Faldo Series Thailand trilogy.

Burapha Golf Club is the venue for the 15th event of the 2019-20 Faldo Series Asia season with exciting finishes on the cards in the Under-16 categories for boys and girls in the Thailand qualifiers, staged in conjunction with international schools around the country.

Among the boys, Thonsaeng ‘Nua’ Nunya and Sebastian Sawtell are primed to top the bill. After the opening two events of the Series, Rugby School Thailand’s Thonsaeng holds a narrow lead over his British International School Phuket (BISP) rival.

Meanwhile, Pimpisa ‘Fai’ Rubrong of Norwich International School Bangkok (NISB) will be seeking to repel the challenge of Bangkok Patana School’s Jennifer Keil when the girls go head-to-head.

The only clearcut category appears to be the Girls’ Under-21s in which Victoria Tip-Aucha of Shrewsbury International School Bangkok (SISB) enjoys a comfortable advantage at the top of the standings.

Combined performances of players in the tournaments in Phuket, Hua Hin and Pattaya will be reflected in an Order of Merit from which five age-group category winners will progress to the 14th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, to be hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at Vietnam’s Laguna Lăng Cô from March 4-6.

There they will join winners from the standalone Faldo Series Thailand Championship, led by Weerawish Narkprachar who topped the standings at Bangkok’s Watermill Golf Club & Resort in June.

The trio of Faldo Series Thailand Championship qualifiers are being run by Golf Development Asia (GDA) and Fore Management Group, both Bangkok-based companies that specialise in organising junior tournaments.

Each of the three events allocated a maximum of 100 spots to international schools in Thailand and 40 for other entries. International schools teams that are part of the existing International Schools’ Golf Tour (ISGT) have also been able to win team Order of Merit points towards the ISGT season.

Regents International School Pattaya (RISP), current leaders in this season’s ISGT team Order of Merit, is the host school for the Faldo Series Pattaya Championship.

In addition to RISP, BISP, NISB and SISB, representatives from 10 other schools are expected to take part at Burapha Golf Club, located within rolling countryside near the new Chonburi-Pattaya Highway, a short distance from the booming Eastern Seaboard.

The 2019-20 Faldo Series Asia season is supported by The R&A and endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation. The International Junior Golf Academy is a partner of the Faldo Series.

As well as the series of qualifiers in Thailand, the FSA schedule includes two events in China and championships in Australia, Bangladesh, Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

Recognised as the only global amateur series for boys and girls, the Faldo Series was established in 1996, expanding to Asia in 2006. Today, 40 Faldo Series tournaments take place in 30-plus countries worldwide, touching more than 7,000 golfers each year. Past champions include Tseng Ya-ni and Rory McIlroy, both multiple Major winners, while recent LPGA Tour winners include Thidapa Suwannapura (2010 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Girls’ champion) and Nasa Hataoka (2016 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Girls’ champion) who claimed her third LPGA Tour title last March.