Eila Galitsky, a 16-year-old who holds dual citizenship in Thailand and Canada, shot 14-under 274 to win by five strokes on Sunday in the fifth annual Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific at Singapore Island Country Club.
Galitsky became the second Thai player to win the championship. Countrywoman Atthaya Thitikul won the inaugural event in 2018 before immense pro success elevated her to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings last year. The win gets Galitsky into a trio of majors – the Chevron Championship, AIG Women’s Open and Amundi Evian Championship – where she will compete against Thitikul. She is also now in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and ISPS Handa Australian Open, among other opportunities.
“I did not expect this to happen at the beginning of the week,” Galitsky said. “I played my first practice round here and lost five balls that day. At that point, I was thinking making the cut would be a good result.”
She did far more than that. Galitsky opened with 69-67 to share the 36-hole lead with South Korea’s Minsol Kim and China's Sophie Han before creating separation with a 2-under 70 in the third round. On the final day, Galitsky’s lone dropped shot was a missed tap-in on No. 14; she promptly birdied three of her final four holes after the miscue.
“I was very nervous going into the final round,” Galisky said. “I did not sleep well and woke up at 4:30 a.m.” She then revealed that a text message from Natthakritta Vongtaveelap, a former WAAP competitor now playing on the LPGA, helped her relax before the final round.
Galitsky was No. 193 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking coming into the week, and most of her recent competitive success was in her native Thailand. She reached the quarterfinals of the R&A Girls Amateur last summer, but this is her biggest achievement to date.
Kim, No. 14 the world, was looking to be the first Korean champion in the event but never seriously threatened for the lead. A closing 2-under 70 allowed her to cruise into the runner-up position, five strokes behind Galitsky and three strokes ahead of Han, Yeji Park (South Korea), Fiona Xu (New Zealand) and Yuna Araki (Japan).
RESULTS
Matthew Avril of Vero Beach, Florida, shot 4-under 212 to win the Florida Senior Azalea Amateur on Sunday afternoon at Palatka Golf Club.
Avril never trailed after each round, opening with a 2-under 70 in trying conditions before creating a sizable lead with a 4-under 68 in round two. A finishing 2-over 74 was no worry as Avril still won by three strokes.
The runner-up finishers were three Georgians who are fixtures on the senior amateur circuit. Doug Hanzel and Jack Hall, both from Savannah, and Rusty Strawn of McDonough tied at 1-under 215.
Only one day of action was completed at last week’s Sunningdale Foursomes before bad weather prompted host Sunningdale Golf Club just west of London to cancel the event. Snow had covered
the two courses, New and Old, throughout Wednesday and heavy rain followed on Thursday, leaving organisers no option but to call a halt to the traditional curtain raiser for the golf season in the United Kingdom.
As always, the tournament – first played in 1934 and featuring professionals and amateurs, men and women, young and old – had attracted an eclectic field. Former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss, the 2021 Amateur Championship runner-up Monty Scowsill, reigning Lytham Trophy champion John Gough and their respective partners were among those defeated in the first round.
But LPGA stars Georgia Hall, Ryann O’Toole and Charley Hull (the first two in combination, the latter alongside the DP World Tour’s Ryan Evans) made progress, as did, in different pairings, Robert Rock, the one-time conqueror of Tiger Woods (in the 2012 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship), and two-time DP World Tour winner Callum Shinkwin. The icy blast denied them all the opportunity of hunting down the win – and the many unheralded amateur duos the thrill of trying to take them down.
Sean Fairholm and Matt Cooper