The 16-year-old former Ladies European Thailand Championship winner shot the final round 67 for a total 14 under-par 202 to beat Phannarai Meesom-us who followed second on 214 at the par 72 6,248 yard course.

Overnight heavy rain made it difficult for golfers to play their game but the teen prodigy had no problem as she cruised to a convincing victory in her third appearance at the event.

“It’s quite a challenge to play under the condition but I’m happy I pulled it off,” said Atthaya who will fly to South Korea for a tournament before returning to join the LET Thailand Championship which she won in 2017.

Koepka fired a seven-under-par 63, the day’s only bogey-free round, to take a one-stroke lead over New Zealand’s Danny Lee after 18 holes while Woods, in his first start since snapping an 11-year major drought at last month’s Masters, settled for a 72 and a share of 51st.

Third-ranked Koepka closed with a 33-foot birdie putt to set a course record and match the lowest round in tournament history.

“That was one of the best rounds I’ve played probably as a professional,” said Koepka, who turned pro in 2012.

It was the second 63 in as many years at a PGA Championship for the 29-year-old American, who joined Australian Greg Norman and Fiji’s Vijay Singh as the only players to shoot so low twice in majors.

“My putter was hot today. It hasn’t felt that good in a long time,” Koepka said. “This was a crazy day, seven-under, it’s not going to happen every day.”

Lee closed with back-to-back birdies to shoot 64, added distance with his driver the key to his low round of 2019 and in 10 career major starts.

“I’m definitely hitting it further,” he said. “That’s a huge bonus for me. I’m interested myself in what I can do out there this week.”

Tommy Fleetwood, trying to become the first Englishman to win the PGA since Jim Barnes in 1919, shot 67 to stand a distant third, one stroke ahead of France’s Mike Lorenzo-Vera, South Korean Kang Sung and Americans Chez Reavie, Luke List and Pat Perez.

A pack of eight on 69 included major winners Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and top-ranked Dustin Johnson. Spieth would complete a career Grand Slam with a win while Johnson’s top ranking is vulnerable if he doesn’t claim the Wanamaker Trophy.

Both Koepka and playing partner Woods said his round could have been better, perhaps below the record 62 fired by South Africa’s Branden Grace in the 2017 British Open.

“I parred both par-5s and missed a couple of eight-footers for birdie,” Koepka said. “It could have been a hell of a round.”

Koepka, who began on the back nine, holed a 40-foot birdie putt at 10 and sank a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-3 14th.

He charged with four birdies in six holes before sinking a 10-footer to save par at the sixth ahead of his closing heroics.

“He played well,” Woods said. “That was probably the highest score he could have shot out there. He left a few out there. He could easily have been a couple better.

“I wasn’t as close as I would have liked to have been for sure.”

Only two of eight prior players who fired major-opening 63s won titles, Jack Nicklaus at the 1980 US Open and Ray Floyd at the 1982 PGA.

Koepka, who seeks a third consecutive US Open win next month, could become the first player to hold back-to-back titles at two majors, but no player has ever repeated as a US Open and PGA champion.

– Nightmare for Tiger –

Sixth-ranked Woods, coming off his stunning 15th major victory in last month’s Masters, endured a nightmare day in his first competitive round since capturing his 15th career major title 33 days ago at Augusta National.

On the same course where he won the 2002 US Open, Woods opened with a double bogey at 10 after finding rough, laying up and blasting over the green. He answered with a birdie at 15 but double-bogeyed the par-3 17th after finding sand off the tee.

“The golf course is playing tough,” Woods said. “It’s not that hard to make bogeys out there but it’s hard to make birdies.”

Woods fought back with birdies at the first and second holes, then curled in a 30-foot eagle putt to make the crowd roar.

But par misses from inside 10 feet at the fifth, seventh and the par-3 eighth doomed his fightback.

“Fought my way back and got it under par for the day,” Woods said. “Let it slip with a couple of mistakes and a couple of bad putts at the end.”

Joining Woods on 72 was Rory McIlroy, whose lone birdie came on the 18th hole.

– Daly carts around PGA –

It was the first PGA Championship played in May since 1949, moving from August this year in a revamp of the global golf schedule.

American John Daly, hampered by right knee arthritis, used a cart after an appeal under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He’s the first player to use a cart in a major since Casey Martin at the 2012 US Open.

It only helped so much. Daly shot 75.

However, Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios was disqualified after a foul-mouthed rant during his third-round match against Norway’s Casper Ruud which could land him with a lengthy suspension.

Federer came through 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) against 13th seed Coric after earlier beating Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-3 in the second round as players doubled up after rain wiped out play on Wednesday.

Federer, a four-time finalist in Rome, trailed 0-4 before dropping the first set, coming back in the second and saving two match points in the third set tie-break.

“Definitely felt like I got a little lucky obviously,” said Federer.

“Borna had the lead. There were crucial moments throughout the match, second set and third set, for me to stay in it. Things definitely went my way tonight.”

Federer next plays Greek eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Monte Carlo Masters champion Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3.

Tsitsipas shocked Federer in the fourth round at the Australian Open in January.

Nadal, meanwhile, dropped just two games throughout the day, dispatching Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 6-0 in the third round after earlier also dropping just one game against France’s Jeremy Chardy.

“I have been improving every week,” said Nadal, who next plays fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco as he targets a first title on clay this season before his French Open defence.

“It’s been a peculiar clay court season for me. I had some tough period of time. Has been little bit difficult to hold the body and the tennis level for every day.”

Djokovic, winner in Madrid last Sunday, beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-0 after earlier easing past Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-1, 6-3.

The four-time Italian Open winner next plays Argentine seventh seed Juan Martin Del Potro for a place in the semi-finals.

“I like the fact that I didn’t play yesterday because I felt like I needed an extra maybe day of rest and recovery a little bit,” said the Serb. “So it was perfect.”

In the women’s event, Japan’s Naomi Osaka, the top seed, also won twice to retain the world number one ranking ahead of the start of the French Open.

She eased into the last eight with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Mihaela Buzarnescu after earlier beating Slovak Dominika Cibulkova by the same scoreline.

Osaka was at risk of losing her world number one ranking to Simona Halep but the Romanian was knocked out by Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova losing 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Halep’s defeat also guarantees Osaka’s top seeding at the French Open.

– Swearing, chair throwing –

Kyrgios’s tournament finished early after he threw a chair across court in a tantrum, before storming off and being disqualified.

The controversial 24-year-old, who had marked his presence in Rome by criticising Djokovic and Nadal in an interview on Wednesday, started arguing with the umpire in the third set.

World number 36 Kyrgios had levelled the match at one set all but was given a game penalty early on in the third set for swearing.

His response was to kick out at a water bottle before throwing a chair onto the court, packing his bag and then storming off court, shouting ‘I am fucking done’’

Kyrgios was automatically disqualified with Ruud winning 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 2-1 to advance to the third round before losing to del Potro.

“I think he got what he deserved,” said Ruud of Kyrgios who was then fined 20,000 euros and made to forfeit his tournament winnings.

Kyrgios had already been at the centre of controversy during Wednesday’s washout when he told the NCR Tennis Podcast that Djokovic had “a sick obsession with wanting to be liked”.

Nadal was described by the Australian as “super-salty”.

Fifth seed Dominic Thiem slammed tournament organisers after he was dumped out 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 by Verdasco.

Austrian Thiem complained competitors were left hanging around during the rain-impacted day 24 hours earlier.

“I really dislike how we players get treated at this tournament because yesterday was, in my opinion, not acceptable,” said last year’s French Open runner-up.

“I’m quite pissed about it. I was tired, exhausted, today because of all these shitty things,” he added.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori, the sixth seed, got past American Taylor Fritz 6-2, 6-4 and then Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany in three sets.

Czech second seed Petra Kvitova retired in her third round match against Greece’s Maria Sakkari while trailing 7-5, 5-7, 4-0 in the third set.

The 23-year-old Nattawat opened up a one-shot lead with his bogey-free round highlighted by six birdies and one eagle at the THB 2,000,000 (approximately US$63,860) event co-sanctioned by the All Thailand Golf Tour (ATGT).

Indonesia’s Danny Masrin and Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong trail a shot behind in second place following matching 63s while Tirawat Kaewsiribandit carded a 64 to take fourth place at the award-winning Laguna Golf Phuket.

Defending champion Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij of Thailand posted a 70 to lurk eight shots off the pace in tied-55th.

Nattawat, who claimed his maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) title in Malaysia in 2017, rode on a hot putter to navigate around the greens in only 24 putts.

“I putted really well today and made a lot of long putts. I started off well with birdies on holes two and three which gave me a lot of confidence and I made a 20-foot putt for birdie on hole 17 ,” said the Thai.

He notched birdies on holes two, three, seven and 13 before striking his five-wood to four feet on hole 14 and rolling in his putt for eagle.

“On hole 14, I hit a really great shot from the rough on the left side of the fairway. It landed four feet from the pin and I made an eagle. Overall, I am happy with my round today,” added the Thai, who grabbed two more birdies on his way home.

Starting from the 11th tee, Masrin had a slow start with eight consecutive pars before finding some momentum in the back nine to mark his card with five birdies and an eagle.

“I was scrambling on the first eight holes and couldn’t get the speed of the greens right, then I made the turn and made three straight birdies to get some momentum going.

“I started to get the feel of the greens on the back nine and made some good putts. On hole seven I hit a great shot from 210 yards to the green and then a 15-footer for eagle. It was a pretty good day and I just have to keep with the speed of the greens for the next three rounds,” said the 26-year-old Indonesian, who is chasing his maiden ADT victory this week.

The Singha Laguna Phuket Open is the Tour’s third stop in Thailand this season and is celebrating its third straight edition on the ADT this year.

Leading first round scores:

62 – Nattawat Suvajanakorn

63 – Danny Masrin , Nitithorn Thippong

64 – Tirawat Kaewsiribandit

65 – Piya Swangarunporn , Kammalas Namuangruk , Miguel Carballo , Joohyung Kim , Kosuke Hamamoto

A stroke ahead of defending champion Chonlada Chayanun and Ornnicha Konsunthea at the start of the day, the 23-year-old swapped an opening birdie with a bogey on the second hole before she gained her composure to fire five birdies against a bogey to sign off on 12 under-par-204 in the 5th leg of the Thai LPGA Tour this season.

“This is very special for me as it’s my first win,” said the new graduate from Silpakorn University, who returns home to Bangkok with a winner’s cheque for Bt142,500.

“I was quite nervous as start as Ornicha is the defending champion while Chonlada has been hitting well. I couldn’t hit the fairways at the beginning but still managed to shoot scores.

“Hitting 12 under is by fat the best score in my career. I’m extremely happy I achieved that in my first victory.”

Trichat’s next stop is a China LPGA Tour event in Beijing next week.

Nattapan Siritrai, after a bogey free 68, shared second place with Chiang Mai-born Chalisa Limpipolpaibul, who also had a bogey-free 69 , each finishing three strokes back on nine under-par and picking up cheques for Bt78,730.

Ornnicha and Chonlada were tied at fourth, one further back, along with Kultida Pramphun.

So far all five legs of the Thai LPGA Tour  have been won by different players: Supamas Sangchan won the opener in Prachinburi, Kultida Pramphun in Nakhon Nayok, 2018 THai LPGA No 1 player Apichaya Yobol in Rayong and Chonlada in Nakhon Ratchasima.

The top 40 players in the Order Of Merit will be eligible for the Ladies European Thailand Championship in Pattaya next month.

 Somyot says the four-team exhibition event at the Chang Arena in Buriram will bea good test for his side and a chance to restore faith among Thai fans.

Thailand will play the No 1 Asean team Vietnam at 7.45pm on June 5 after the opening match between Curacao and India. The winners will meet in the final three days later.

“All three visiting teams have better world rankings than ours,” said Somyot during a weekly meeting at the FAT headquarters in Hua Mark. “That will be the challenge that we cannot overlook.”

Somyot also believes that players have enough time to train and prepare for the tournament and should be which ready to prove they can battle with any team.

“This is a good opportunity for the players to prove how ready and fresh they are when they face tough teams. Their determination together with the fans’ support, should drive them to create good results.”

Caretaker coach Sirisak Yodyadthai, meanwhile, insists that he needs striker Teerasil Dangda as he lacks other option up front – Teerasil’s club Muangthong United had asked him not to pick their players because they were in a slump and had spiralled down the Thai League.

“We are short of good forwards. That’s why I really had to call up Teerasil,” said Sirisak. “I believe his experience with Frecce Hiroshima [in the J-League] from last year will be very useful for us.”

A total of 35 players, including four from Muangthong, have been called by Sirisak, who will cut the squad to 23 on May 27.

In the domestic market, Carabao Dang will strengthen its presence, and will penetrate the international market with a sport marketing strategy.

The brand recently signed another two-year contract with EFL to maintain the official main sponsorship of the Carabao Cup. Marketing research from the previous season of EFL shows that Carabao gained 106 per cent more brand awareness, which has paved the way for the brand in the international market and increased 2018 export sales to 52 per cent.

Carabao Group is looking to fulfill its goal to become both a world-class brand and a world-class product with all-in-one state-of-the-art technology that cuts cost and increases profit to accommodate the brand’s full-on international expansion over the next three years.

Sathien Setthasit, the CEO of Carabao Group Public Co Ltd (CBG) or CBG, revealed that the marketing research done through the EFL platform earlier in March for the 2017-2018 season found that Carabao has received a 106-per cent bump in brand awareness (at 66 per cent, up from 32 per cent the previous year). The research result agrees with the group’s marketing outlook, especially for the new countries in the international market where Carabao Dang has been launched – in Europe, America, Africa, Australia and Asia.

In 2018, Carabao Group saw a 45 per cent increase in overall income, including a 52 per cent increase from international markets.

The success led Carabao Group to renew its EFL cup sponsorship for 2021 and 2022.

“Another factor that helps support our extensive expansion is combining our production plants as an integral, vertical factory on 200 rai of land in Chachoengsao province during the past 2-3 years to reduce costs and generate more profit in the long term,” said Sathien.

CBG now has the Asia Pacific Glass (APG) glass bottle manufacturing plant, the Carabao Tawan Dang (CBD) bottling plant, and Asia Can Manufacturing (ACM) to help reduce cost for outsourced parties and to allow the group to supply other brands. This production integration has been set in motion to accommodate the regional market growth in the next 2-3 years.

“Carabao Group’s distinctive recognisability for both the local and international markets will surely help the brand to be well accepted and better known,” said Sathien.

He also stressed the importance of sports marketing as the brand’s key strategy to create brand awareness for Carabao Dang, not only as a world-class brand in the domestic market, but also as an entrant product in new and promising markets such as Mexico and Uruguay in South America as well as Ghana, Nigeria and Djibouti in Africa.

In Europe, Carabao Dang has a presence in 20 countries, while Australia and Korea have shown keen interest to market Carabao Dang. The exponential growth of the non-carbonated Carabao Dang can in China has strengthened the brand’s ultra-premium image that has allowed consumers to learn and become familiar with the products via Bao Dang girls at sales points in 20,000 Sinopec gas stations throughout that country.

Carabao Dang is now available in 15,000 branches in five northern regions, including Heilongjiang, Harbin, Peking, Hubei and Shandong. The brand is looking to cover 100 per cent of Sinopec gas stations by the end of the year, which it expects will springboard the brand’s presence and growth in China. As for the markets in CLMV, the growth is gradual at 67 per cent compared to the same period of last year especially in Cambodia where it experienced the highest growth.

As for the domestic market, Carabao Dang sees small growth compared to the same period of last year as the energy drink market is slowing. However, products distributed by Carabao Group have seen 27-per cent growth as a result of the Group’s ability to cover 90 per cent of the country. Overall income reached Bt14,463 million, an increase from the previous year of Bt1,558 million, or 12.1 per cent. Income from domestic sales is 55 per cent and the income from international market has increased by 45 per cent. Considering the income from the energy drink product alone, 52 per cent comes from international markets, which are higher than the 48 per cent from the domestic market.

As for its marketing strategy, Carabao Dang will continue to use sports marketing as its key plan with a series of promotional events, brand awareness events in overseas markets, product experience through Bao Dang girls, an increase in distribution channels and communication via both online and offline media.

The brand is also looking to create a strong brand image through its own media channels, such as the Carabao Group on various social media, its website, Facebook page, Instagram, LINE and YouTube. The group is confident that the strategies will strengthen Carabao Group over the next three years and result in it becoming Thailand’s market leader in the energy drink market and to secure more income from the export business compared with the previous year.

The four events are the national selection of Thailand Esports team for the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines, the Thailand Corporate League on May 31 to select representatives from Thailand to compete in the PVP Esports Corporate Community in Singapore, the PUBG Mobile King of the Hill Official Partner with AIS Zeed on June 1, and the Speed Drifters Legends Cup on June 2.

Mr. Pratthana Leelapanang, AIS’s Chief Consumer Business Officer, said “In the year 2018, we have seen the growth of the eSports business in Thailand clearly with a market value of up to 22,000 million baht and a group of players with as many as 27.5 million people while still growing every year. eSports athletes and Thai gamers have the ability not to lose other nations as well, AIS, therefore, intends to become a core in supporting the Thai gaming and eSports industry in concrete ways to lead to strong growth and international recognition.

Today, AIS continues to support the eSports industry by launching the Thailand Game Expo by AIS eSports, the biggest gaming and gaming event held in Thailand for the first time, which has combined the strengths of AIS as the network provider with M Vision, the largest mobile exhibition organizer in the country, and leading giant partners from all industries in order to bring the products and services of eSport to make shopping with great value and the best price, and create a world of eSports experience for Thai gamers to meet in close contact including the selection of eSports athletes to represent the Thai national team to compete in the 30th SEA Games that commonly do not have the opportunity to see and together with an environment of the eSports Championship in Thailand which can be watched and cheered closely including participating in the Walk in Tournament to win the prize and many rewards as well.”

Mr. Thanong Leeissaranukul, Chairman of M Vision Public Company Limited or MVP, said “The company is an event organizing specialist. Previously, the company has organized a great eSport event in the Asia Pacific, allowing the company to have experience and expertise in organizing eSport competitions. The company would like to thank AIS for seeing such strengths and choosing MVP as a partner to join Thailand Game Expo by AIS eSports in this time and the company still believes that this event will be a center of eSports athletes. And if this event received good feedbacks, the company still believes that this kind of activity will happen again in the future for sure.”

Meet Thailand Game Expo by AIS eSports on 30 May – 2 June 2019 from 10 am. – 8 pm. at BITEC Bangna Hall EH100. See details of activities, promotions and additional information at http://www.thailandgameexpo.com