{"id":488370,"date":"2026-02-18T17:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T17:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/488370\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T17:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T17:51:15","slug":"bangkok-post-stars-ride-tuk-tuk-soak-up-thai-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/488370\/","title":{"rendered":"Bangkok Post &#8211; Stars ride tuk-tuk, soak up Thai culture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ahead of Honda LPGA Thailand 2026 From fairways to tuk-tuks: Stars celebrate Thai culture<\/p>\n<p>PUBLISHED : 18 Feb 2026 at 05:21<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5972188_800.jpg\"   alt=\"International golf stars, from left, Benedetta Moresco, He Muni, Lydia Ko, Pajaree Anannarukarn and Yuri Yoshida pose with a tuk-tuk.\" class=\"img-fluid\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInternational golf stars, from left, Benedetta Moresco, He Muni, Lydia Ko, Pajaree Anannarukarn and Yuri Yoshida pose with a tuk-tuk.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Chon Buri: Thai star Pajaree Anannarukarn joined Lydia Ko of New Zealand, He Muni of China, Yuri Yoshida of Japan, and Benedetta Moresco of Italy in a vibrant pre-tournament celebration of Thai culture yesterday, as the international stars traded fairways for tuk-tuks ahead of the 2026 Honda LPGA Thailand.<\/p>\n<p>Before turning their full focus to competition at Siam Country Club Old Course on Thursday, the five players took part in a special promotional photo session featuring Thailand&#8217;s iconic three-wheeled &#8220;tuk-tuk&#8221; &#8212; a globally recognised symbol of the country&#8217;s culture and tourism.<\/p>\n<p>The unique activity blended world- class golf with local heritage, offering fans a glimpse of Thailand&#8217;s charm beyond the course. The players enjoyed authentic tuk-tuk rides around the venue, sharing laughter and relaxed moments as tournament week officially gathered momentum.<\/p>\n<p>The tuk-tuk has long been one of Thailand&#8217;s most iconic images, known internationally as both a mode of transport and a symbol of local lifestyle and tourism.<\/p>\n<p>The activity not only added colour to tournament week but also served as a bridge between global sport and local culture &#8212; presenting Thailand as vibrant, welcoming, and full of character.<\/p>\n<p>Pajaree, a two-time LPGA Tour winner and host representative competing in the event for the eighth time, said: &#8220;As a Thai player, it&#8217;s truly an honour to help promote our country. I&#8217;m so happy to see everyone enjoying the experience. This week, I&#8217;m also planning to take some of the international players out for Thai seafood and local dishes &#8212; as I always do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ko, Olympic gold medallist at Paris 2024, former world No.1 and LPGA Hall of Fame member with 23 career victories including three majors, added: &#8220;I&#8217;m very happy to be back in Thailand. Every time I come here, I&#8217;m impressed by the culture and the warm welcome from the fans.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He, a fan favourite among Thai golf followers, commented: &#8220;I&#8217;ve visited Thailand many times and have ridden in a tuk-tuk before, but this is my first time riding one at a golf course like this. I love Thai people &#8212; and I love Thai food.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For Yoshida, who will be competing in Thailand for the first time, the experience was memorable: &#8220;I&#8217;ve wanted to visit Thailand for a long time. The atmosphere here is beautiful, and riding in a tuk-tuk made me feel even closer to Thai culture. I hope I&#8217;ll have the chance to come back again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Moresco, who will make her first competitive appearance in Thailand as an invited player, shared her excitement: &#8220;I&#8217;m very excited to compete in Pattaya. I&#8217;ve heard about Thailand&#8217;s tourism for many years and wanted to experience it myself. Thailand has so much charm &#8212; the culture, the food, and the atmosphere.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ahead of Honda LPGA Thailand 2026 From fairways to tuk-tuks: Stars celebrate Thai culture PUBLISHED : 18 Feb&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,246844,146405,246845,246843,85,246841,229555,246842],"class_list":["post-488370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-golf-tournament-thailand","tag-lpga-tour","tag-pattaya-golf","tag-siam-country-club","tag-sports","tag-thai-culture","tag-thai-tourism","tag-tuk-tuk-thailand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}