“Luckily, the weather condition was not so warm except for the last three holes. My plan was to stick to the routine by hitting the fairways and the greens. I tried to shoot as many scores as possible but unfortunately, I made only three long putts and missed some short putts. Still, it’s better to shoot under par.” said Budsabakorn whose two Thai LPGA wins occurred twice in 2014 (in Bangkok) and 2017 (Chiang Mai.)

“To play on this course, you need to aim at the middle of the fairways as there are many obstacles. Hitting the ball in the wrong spots can make it challenging to recover. You must hit the ball in the right spots to set up easy putts on the greens,” said Budsabakorn who mainly plays in Japan and has won four times on the JLPGA Step Up Tour.

“My game plan for the next two days is to play defensive golf and try not to expect too much. I just have to focus on what I have to do and play as best as I can. There are some tricky lies on this course that require your attention, and putting too much pressure on yourself can cause me some drawbacks,” she said.

Thirty-two-year-old Punpaka birdied twice on holes No 5 and 15 with a lone bogey on No 2 which saw her trail the leader by a stroke.

"I hit my driver well, most of the time landing on the fairways. However, my approach shots were not as consistent, only successful about 60% of the time. Despite this, I'm pleased with my putting game, which was quite good, and overall happy with my score,” she said.

Also with a 71 was Samaporn from Leoi. She fired three birdies against two bogeys.

"I didn't make many errors today and was able to sink some good putts to save par. For tomorrow, I'm looking forward to having fun with the players in my group and hoping to hole more putts,” Samaporn said.

The Thailand Ladies Professional Golf Association provides an opportunity for both professional and amateur golfers not only to hone their talents, but also to accumulate points for the Thai LPGA rankings and Order of Merits, and for the Rolex Women's World Ranking points, which can open doors for their professional pursuit on a worldwide scale. The Thai LPGA Tour is supported by the Sports Authority of Thailand, National Sports Development Funds, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), BG Container Glass, Pathumthani Glass Industry, Boon Rawd Trading, Central Group, Leonian (Thailand), Muang Thai Life Assurance, Nikon Sales Thailand, AIS PLAY, Nestle (Thai) and Ubonratana Dam Golf Course

The Thai LPGA tournament is competed in a three-day stroke play format for a total of 54 holes. The tour features ranking points for the 2023 Thai LPGA Tour Order of Merits, 2023 Thai LPGA Tour points and the Rolex Women’s World Ranking points