15-year-old Thai golfer dies after lightning strike during tournament

CHACHOENGSAO – A 15-year-old Thai junior golfer has died after being struck by lightning during a tournament at a golf course in Chachoengsao province on Sunday, prompting her family to call for stronger safety measures at golf competitions.

Ayawarin Pradabyat, known as Aya, was struck by lightning on 1 November while competing at the course. Her family confirmed her death on Monday through the Facebook account “Icezy Aya Ivy Pradabyat”.

Her mother, Natcha Pradabyat, 49, said her daughter’s heart had stopped beating for nearly an hour following the lightning strike before medical staff managed to revive her.

Aya required repeated resuscitation attempts throughout the night as her condition remained critical. Her family said she held on long enough for her father, who had been working in Myanmar, to return and say his final goodbye.

“No parent would ever willingly let their child go. But if holding on means causing more pain to our beloved daughter, we have to let her go peacefully,” her mother wrote on Facebook.

“You fought so hard, my beloved Aya. Rest in peace, my darling.”

Natcha urged golf courses and tournament organisers to introduce stronger safety protocols, including preventive measures and rapid emergency response procedures.

“May Aya’s case be the first and last of its kind involving a junior golfer,” she wrote. “I urge every golf course and tournament organiser to have proper measures in place to prevent such incidents and respond as quickly as possible when emergencies occur. No one should have to suffer a loss like this again.”

Aya’s grandmother, Aphorn Pradabyat, 67, raised concerns about how the tournament was managed during the thunderstorm.

She said Aya had been playing alongside three or four other golfers and caddies, while her mother was waiting at the clubhouse.

According to Aphorn, lightning had already struck twice in the area during the afternoon, but tournament officials had not ordered play to stop.

She questioned whether organisers had allowed the competition to continue because they wanted to finish the tournament quickly, although this had not been confirmed.

Aya was playing near the 11th hole when a third lightning strike hit her, her grandmother said.

The family’s account of the tournament’s safety arrangements and emergency response has not been independently verified. No response from the golf course or tournament organisers was included in the information available.

Aya was an accomplished junior golfer who had won awards at several tournaments. She had also represented her province in golf and was being considered as a reserve player for Chon Buri’s provincial golf team.

Her grandmother said Aya’s condition deteriorated overnight and that she had been kept alive with medication while the family waited for her father to return from Myanmar.

She died late Monday morning, after her father had arrived to say goodbye.