EDWARD THANGARAJAH

Thailand's ladies amateur golfers who took part in the Malaysian Ladies Open have returned home carrying major awards. The tournament was held at the Tropicana Golf Club Resort last week.

A young Thai, Yupaporn Kawinpakorn who has been offered a place at the Florida Atlanta University, has emerged as the new rising star in the sport.

She won the Malaysian Open Ladies title with a three-round score of 221 (74-76-71) and won the Tunku Ampuan Trophy by three strokes.

She beat Indonesia's Putri Tjiptadi Chandra and Malaysia's Ainil Johar Abubakar who returned three-round totals of 224.

Thailand also captured both the team gross and net competitions, with Chayuda Singhasuwan, Narapatta Phansiri and Walaphan Utama as members of their team.

They finished ahead of Malaysia and Indonesia.

After her triumph, Yupaporn announced she has high hopes of doing well in ladies golf and plans to be the best both in Thailand and abroad.