Patty Tavatanakit: Player Profile
By Matt Coles
Who is Patty Tavatanakit?
Patty Tavatanakit is one of the leading Thai golfers in the female game, with a major title among her six professional wins.
Born in Bangkok in 1999, Tavatanakit began playing golf in school, and went on to have an incredible amateur career. She was the Thailand Amateur Ladies Golf Association Player of the Year in 2015-2016, and went on to win seven tournaments during her collegiate career with the UCLA Bruins.
She turned professional after graduating, and won three times on the Symetra Tour in 2019. Amazingly, she did so in just eight tournaments, including winning back-to-back events. Thanks to those performances, Tavatanakit was named Rookie of the Year on the tour.
Two years later, she was named LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, after securing her maiden major title. The Thai won the ANA Inspiration (now Chevron Championship) in 2021, taking victory by two shots. She won on the Ladies European Tour in early 2024, taking a huge win at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International. Seven days later, she won on home soil at the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Patty Tavatanakit | An Overview
Personal Information
Name: Paphangkorn ‘Patty’ Tavatanakit
Born: October 11, 1999
Nationality: Thailand
Residence: Bangkok, Thailand
Career
College: UCLA
Turned Pro: 2019
Professional Wins: 6
Highest World Ranking: 10 – May 31, 2021
Best Results In Majors
Best Finishes:
– Chevron Championship – WON (2021)
– Women’s PGA Championship – T5 (2021)
– US Women’s Open – T5 (2018)
– Amundi Evian Championship – T48 (2023)
– AIG Women’s Open – T7 (2021)
Professional Wins – 6
2019 (3) – Donald Ross Classic, Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic, Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge
2021 (1) – ANA Inspiration
2024 (1) – Aramco Saudi Ladies International, Honda LPGA Thailand
Achievements and Awards
Symetra Tour Rookie of the Year – 2019
LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year – 2021
Rolex Annika Major Award – 2021
Patty Tavatanakit LPGA | What’s In Her Bag?
Tavatanakit is a Titleist staffer, with a Titleist TSR driver and fairway woods. Her irons and wedges are also Titleist, with a trio of the new Vokey SM10 wedges. She also has a Bettinardi putter and uses the Titleist Pro V1x ball.
You can see our full article on what’s in the Thai golfer’s bag here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Patty Tavatanakit
When and where was Patty Tavatanakit born?
Patty Tavatanakit was born in October 1999 in Bangkok, Thailand. She began playing golf during her time at Keerapat International School in the Thai capital.
When did Patty Tavatanakit turn professional?
Patty Tavatanakit turned professional in 2019 and immediately took the Symetra Tour by storm as she won three times in eight tournaments to win the Rookie of the Year award.
How many major titles has Patty Tavatanakit won?
As of early 2024, Patty Tavatanakit is a one-time major champion. She was victorious at the ANA Inspiration in 2021, winning by two shots from New Zealand’s Lydia Ko. She has four other top tens in majors, including finishing T5 as the Low Amateur at the US Women’s Open back in 2018.
Who is Patty Tavatanakit dating?
Patty Tavatanakit is in a relationship with Chinese golfer Andy Zhang. He reached the top ten on the World Amateur Golf Rankings and played in three PGA Tour events. The pair have been together since 2019.
Did you Know?
Double Rookie of the Year
Tavatanakit is part of a small club of female golfers who have been named Rookie of the Year on both the Symetra Tour and the LPGA Tour. She did so on the former after winning three times in 2019, before taking the LPGA Rookie award two years later after her maiden major title.
Incredible Major Year
The Thai started 2021 with her maiden major title at the ANA Inspiration – which was also her first LPGA Tour title. She also finished inside the top ten at both the Women’s PGA Championship and the AIG Women’s Open in the same year to win the Rolex Annika Major Award.
Thai Olympian
Tavatanakit made her Olympics debut in Tokyo at the delayed Games in 2021. She came home in a tie for 23rd, alongside Leona Maguire and Anna Nordqvist.
Amateur Success
Prior to turning professional, Tavatanakit had an incredible amateur career. She won seven times during her spell with the UCLA Bruins, being named Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) and Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year, WGCA First Team All-American twice, and an All-Pac-12 First Team Member.
Prior to her time at college, she won plenty of events and awards. She was victorious at the Callaway Junior World Golf Championship in 2014, before being named the Thailand Amateur Ladies Golf Association Player of the Year two years later, following wins at the Junior Golf Association Rolex Tournament of Champions and the Ping Invitational.
Other Patty Tavatanakit Articles
‘It adds up emotionally’: Major winner erupts into tears after ending cut drought
What do you think of Patty Tavatanakit’s career to date? Can the Thai golfer win more major titles? Let us know with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
