Reigning champion Pornanong Phatlum has only gotten better in the past year and is hoping to end the season on a high with a successful defence of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters this week.
The pocket-sized 25-year-old Thai delighted fans last year with her consistent display as she hardly missed a fairway or green in regulation to beat two of the top-five ranked players in the world – Stacy Lewis and Shanshan Feng.
And the 5-foot-3 Phatlum, who has improved to world No27 from her 47th rank before the start of last year’s tournament, said she is hoping to reap further reward of putting in a lot of hard work in the gym in an effort to get stronger, as well as gaining another season of experience on the LPGA Tour.
“I’m very happy to be back here again…very excited,” she said ahead of the €500,000 (Dh2.26m) season-ending championship of the Ladies European Tour, which begins at the Majlis course of Emirates Golf Club from tomorrow. “I think I got a lot of experience from this year on the LPGA Tour, and hopefully I can win again this time.
“My confidence is in the driver, which is very straight. This year, I started to do training, so my body is stronger and I can hit it further. I have added another 10 yards to my driving distance this year.”
Phatlum finished 20th in the LPGA Tour Money List this season, aided by seven top-10 finishes. Even though a win eluded her on the LPGA Tour, she finished tied seventh in the US Women’s Open, her best finish in a major, and was second to Feng in the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.
World No5 Feng is the highest ranked this week, and Phatlum would dearly love to beat her – not because she wants to avenge her Sime Darby loss, but because she wants to end the year on a high and be more motivated in achieving her goals for 2015.
“I’d like to win at the end of the year and then start fresh,” said Phatlum, who turned 25 last week.
“My goal is to win one of the LPGA events and be in the top‑10 of the world rankings. This year, my goal was to get inside the top-30 and I achieved it.
“My best event this year was Sime Darby in Malaysia. I almost won there, came very close before finishing second to Shanshan.
“I don’t want to pressure myself by thinking of revenge, but keep an eye on Shanshan. She’s a good player and she is playing very well this year.”
