Thai golfer honored by LPGA Tour before SEA Games 32
Chevron Championship 2023 will take place on The Club par72, closing the curtain on the morning of April 24, Hanoi time, with the championship belonging to Vietnamese-born golfer Lilia Vu. The tournament featured 132 competitors, with Galitsky being one of the seven amateur faces.
After two rounds with a +1 cut, the amateur group was left with only Galitsky and 19-year-old American Amari Avery, who won the right to continue.
Finishing round 3, Galitsky reached +3, Avery -1. On the closing day, Galitsky scored the same -2 round as the opening day, thereby finishing with a +1 point and standing at T28. In contrast, Avery dropped to T45 (+4) when he scored +5 in the finish line.
With this result, the LPGA Tour awarded Galitsky the Chevron Championship's "Outstanding Amateur Player" award.
In the professional summary, Galitsky over 72 holes scored 15 birdies, 11 bogeys and a double bogey with key technical indicators including averaging 268 yards, hitting 37 of the 56 fairways, going to the green according to 43 holes and averaging 28 shots per round.
Galitsky attended the major in Texas by winning the Asia-Pacific women's amateur championship in Singapore in March, and Avery was invited by a sponsor. That regional cup also helped Galitsky qualify for the Evian Championship in July and the Women's Open in August. These three events combine with the Women's PGA Championship and the US Women's Open into the annual women's major.
Natthakritta Vongtaveelap - Galitsky's teammate at SEA Games 31 - also attended the Chevron Championship recently with a professional status, but was cut out because of a +2 aggregate score.
In addition to Thai nationality, Galitsky has additional Canadian citizenship thanks to his father is a native of Toronto. After his first challenge at the prestigious tournament, Galitsky will continue to represent his motherland in the SEA Games 32 golf medal competition at Garden City Golf Club, Phnom Penh from May 8 to 13.
"I am going to compete in the SEA Games in Cambodia, according to my commitment to the national team and hope to win a gold medal," Galitsky shared his immediate plans and goals.
Thai team leaders are ambitious to acquire both individual and team gold medals, male and female. "We believe the home team will bring home four gold medals," said General Secretary of the Thai Golf Association Kittisak Chaimongkoltrakul on March 24.
The previous golf tournament took place at Dam Vac par72 in Vinh Phuc in May 2022, in which Vongtaveelap won the gold medal, and Galitsky finished fifth in the individual group. In the group achievement race, the duo continued to help the home team finish first. In the men's event, Thailand won an individual bronze medal and a team silver medal.
Six months after the 31st SEA Games, Vongtaveelap turned professional and got a card on the US women's first-class golf tournament system LPGA Tour, season 2023. This year, 20-year-old Vongtaveelap has twice entered the top 6 finals on the LPGA Tour, including the runner-up position of Honda LPGA Thailand in February.
