LANCASTER, Pa.— There are two things that haven’t yet spooked Wichanee Meechai this week at the U.S. Women’s Open – the ghost she believes to reside in her AirBNB and the pressure of the big moment in a major championship.
After admitting that she doesn’t intrinsically have a lot of self-belief following Friday’s second round at Lancaster Country Club, the Thailand native showed no signs of obvious fear on Moving Day at the U.S. Women’s Open. Meechai’s group was timed at one point on Saturday, something that might have rushed or derailed even the most seasoned of players at one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar.
But the 31-year-old just kept on plugging away, seemingly unfazed by the mounting pressure coming down the stretch in Pennsylvania.
Meechai slept on the 36-hole lead, sitting at 4-under overall through two days at Lancaster Country Club. It was just her second time ever holding any type of post-round lead on the LPGA Tour, and there was a bit of a question mark surrounding how she’d play in the third round considering her inexperience in this type of situation.
Meechai quickly answered many of those unknowns with an opening birdie on the par-4 1st hole to move to 5-under overall. She parred her next five holes before picking up another birdie on the par-5 7th hole after finding the green in two and then parred out on the front nine to turn in 34 at 6-under total.
The LPGA Tour veteran tripped up with a bogey on the par-4 10th hole, but she didn’t panic, parring the next three holes to remain at 5-under total with five holes to play. Dropping another shot after bogeying the 14th, it looked like the pressure might have finally caught up to Meechai late in Saturday’s round.
But once again, Meechai refused to spook, grabbing a nerve-steeling birdie on 15 after hitting her approach shot to two feet on the par 4 and tapping in for three.
That final birdie helped her to ignore the anxiety on her final three holes, as Meechai ultimately made a pair of clutch par saves on 16 and 18 to remain tied for the lead at 5-under alongside Andrea Lee and Minjee Lee, a performance that she was proud of considering her energy levels.
“It was great today. I made a lot of save par putts,” Meechai said of her second round. “I didn't tee off pretty good today. I feel so tired, to be honest. But just have to be positive and then have fun on the course. I think my focus on the game is pretty good today. I hit a lot of bad shots, but I don't have any bad thoughts about my swing or about the result at all. I'm staying in my zone and trying to keep going and then be patient.”
Her humor in her post-round interviews might make some think she’s not feeling too plussed about what’s proving to be the biggest moment of her nine-year career on the LPGA Tour. However, that’s far from the truth. Meechai has openly admitted to “not liking the pressure” on a couple of different occasions this week, saying she has never had confidence in herself in all her years competing on the LPGA Tour.
But after being forced into the spotlight this week in Pennsylvania, Meechai is learning to dance with the demons, a tango she’s hoping to perform again in tomorrow’s final round.
“It's like when you have a lot of pressure, you cannot think about anything,” explained Meechai. “You cannot feel your body. You cannot feel your brain. You cannot feel your hands. I just hate it. But you're not going to be able to get rid of it. I think the best part of the three rounds for me, it's like I managed to get along with the pressure.”
The support that Meechai has had from her team and fellow Thai players has also helped calm her nerves this week. At 31 years old, she is one of the more veteran athletes from her country playing on the LPGA Tour, and that’s put her in a position to mentor some of her younger counterparts, an impact that was evident on Saturday at the U.S. Women’s Open.
Arpichaya Yubol stopped by the first hole to wish Meechai good luck before she teed off. Chanettee Wannasaen was standing by after Meechai’s post-round media availability with a bag of Chick-fil-A to chow down on. She is even gleaning wisdom from chats she has had with Ariya Jutanugarn over the years, asking the two-time major champion on more than one occasion how she handled it when she was at the top of her game.
And while she has ignored social media and avoided responding to text messages at the behest of her manager, Pennapa Pulsawath, Meechai knows there are plenty of other Thai players rooting her on from home, making her want more than anything to make them as proud of her as she is of them come Sunday afternoon at Lancaster Country Club.
“I feel so glad that I'm kind of the oldest in the group right now, like Thai people, and they have a lot of respect on me,” Meechai said. “I'm trying to act pretty cool, to be big sister for them, so I'm proud. They are so great. They are really good players. I'm so proud of them to be this great.”
Meechai is slated to tee off at 2:04 p.m. in the penultimate pairing for tomorrow’s final round, needing another solid round of golf at this challenging venue to have a chance at hoisting the Harton S. Semple trophy, what would be her first-ever victory on the LPGA Tour.
But that’s a lifetime away at this point. For now, Meechai will head back to her potentially haunted AirBNB, content to make friends with the ghosts and the pressure for one more evening before vying for her first U.S. Women’s Open title.
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