A smiling Ariya Jutanugarn has set her sights on Lydia Ko’s world number one ranking as the in-form Thai star chases her sixth win of the season at the Manulife LPGA Classic, which was scheduled to start yesterday, in Cambridge, Ontario.
Ariya, 20, snaffled her fifth title of 2016 last weekend with victory in the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, cementing her place as world number two, just behind New Zealand prodigy Ko.
Ariya, whose superb season has included a maiden major victory at the Women’s British Open as well as an agonizing near-miss at the ANA Inspiration, believes happiness on the course has been the secret of her success.
“Of course, I want to be number one, but on top of that obviously I really want to be happy on the course,” Ariya told reporters on Wednesday.
“As long as I can have fun and enjoy when I play golf, that’s enough for me.
“About being number one, I’m not really worried who I’m going to play, who I have to beat. The only thing, I want to be happy on the course.
“And if I can be that, I think the outcome is going to be great.”
Ariya said learning to smile during each round – before every shot and every putt – has liberated her game.
“Last year I really strained when I played golf, when I grab my driver or grab my other club, I don’t want to keep the golf ball anymore,” she said.
“I started really scared last year. But this year to me, I am really happy to play golf right now and really enjoy it. That’s the main reason (I’m successful) right now, because I really enjoy playing golf.”
Ariya’s formidable power off the tee means her driver has been an irregular weapon this season.
Last week at the Canadian Pacific, she did not use it at all, preferring instead to opt for a two-iron off the tee.
But with the course at Whistle Bear Golf Club playing longer, Ariya said she plans to use her driver again.
“Some courses I can’t hit my driver. But this course, I feel like it’s wide enough to hit (the) driver,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ko, who has four wins this year as well as a silver medal at the Olympics in August, said she has been impressed by Ariya’s rapid advance.
“She’s got the confidence where she really believes that she can win at any event,” Ko said.
“When you have that kind of confidence it’s great because you’re going out there not thinking about the fear, not thinking about what may have been. You’re truly believing in yourself that you can (win) and you can commit to these shots,” she added.