THAILAND TRAVEL NEWS – The opening round of the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) 2010 tour kicks off in Thailand tomorrow with 60 of the worlds best female golfers competing for a total prize pool of $1.3 million. We are pleased to present the full list of players and tee-off times for the event.

The tournament gets under way at the Siam Country Club Plantation (Old) Course at 8.27am and will see the star-studded field headed by 2009 LPGA Player of the Year – and last years Thailand tournament winner – Lorena Ochoa from Mexico returning to defend her title.

Making her first appearance at a Thailand LPGA event will be controversial American golfer, and large crowd drawer, Michelle Wie, along with 2009 LPGA Rookie of the Year, Shin Jiyai from Korea.

The inclusion of Jiyai and Ochoa is sure to make for an interesting and highly charged tournament, with 28-year-old Ochoa narrowly beating the 22-year-old Korean by one point to take out last years LPGA Player of the Year crown.

Other highly respected players set to take to the 35-year-old course and battle their way around its 101 bunkers are Norwegian Suzann Pettersen, Americans Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis, and England’s Laura Davies.

Thailand will also be represented with three of the country’s top professional golfers, Russamee (Russy) Gulyanamitta, Virada Nirapathpongporn and Nontaya Srisawang, as well as two amateurs (*), Thidapa Suwannapura and Ariya Jutanukarn, joining the field.

Tickets for the Honda-PTT LPGA Thailand tournament start at Bt200 (about $US6) for the first two days and increase to Bt600 ($18) for the final day on Sunday, with those 18-years-old or under, and those 60-years-old or above admitted free.

For a full list of competitors and the first day tee-off times for the 2010 Honda-PTT LPGA Thailand tournament in Pattaya see below:

Group / Tee Time / Players

1. 8:27 am.  Wendy Ward / Amy Yang

2. 8:35 am.  Amanda Blumenherst / Lindsey Wright

3. 8:43 am.  Stacy Lewis / Stacy Prammanasudh

4. 8:51 am.  Meaghan Francella / Maria Hjorth

5. 8:59 am.  Sophie Gustafson / Katherine Hull

6. 9:07 am.  Seon Hwa Lee / Laura Davies

7. 9:15 am.  Catriona Matthew / Eun-Hee Ji

8. 9:23 am.  Morgan Pressel / Inbee Park

9. 9:31 am.  Jiyai Shin / Eunjung Yi

10. 9:39 am.  Candie Kung / M.J. Hur

11. 9:55 am.  In-Kyung Kim / Ji Young Oh

12. 10:03 am.  Jee Young Lee / Vicky Hurst

13. 10:11 am.  Meena Lee / Hee-Won Han

14. 10:19 am.  Nontaya Srisawang / *Ariya Jutanugarn

15. 10:27 am. Song-Hee Kim / Brittany Lang

16. 10:35 am.  Kyeong Bae / Natalie Gulbis

17. 10:43 am.  Kristy McPherson / Sun Young Yoo

18. 10:51 am.  Sandra Gal / Maria Verchenova

19 10:59 am.  Christina Kim / Hee Young Park

20 11:07 am.  Na Yeon Choi /Karrie Webb

21 11:15 am.  Paula Creamer / Pat Hurst

22 11:31 am.  Brittany Lincicome / Helen Alfredsson

23 11:39 am.  Yani Tseng / Se Ri Pak

24. 11:47 am.  Anna Nordqvist / Angela Stanford

25. 11:55 am.  Juli Inkster / Suzann Pettersen

26. 12:03 pm.  Cristie Kerr / Michelle Wie

27. 12:11 pm.  Lorena Ochoa / Ai Miyazato

28. 12:19 pm.  Shinobu Moromizato / Russy Gulyanamitta

29. 12:27 pm.  BriMomoko Ueda / Virada Nirapathpongporn

30. 12:35 pm.  *Thidapa Suwannapura / Mika Miyazato

By John Le Fevre

Thailand Travel News for February 17, 2010