Thailand’s Golfers Have Talent to Make an Impact on World Stage
The popularity in the game of golf has never been higher in the Asian region. The Korean women golfers seem to be always on the back pages of newspaper as they continue to dominate women’s international golf with three of them currently in the top ten of the official rankings. For many years Japan held the title of Asia’s strongest golfing nation, but that could be about to change due to the amazing growth of the game in Thailand.
|
In the golfing mad country of Thailand, everyone knows the name of the country’s leading golfing hero; Thongchai Jaidee. He did not begin playing professionally until he was 30-years old but he soon made his mark on the Asian tour, winning the order of merit in 2001, a feat he was to repeat in 2004. Thongchai was the first Thai golfer to win a tournament on the European Tour, and only the second to be invited to the U.S. Masters Tournament. {timg title:=”Thongchai Jaidee Golfer” thumb:=”images/stories/srv/blog/glofer1.jpg” img:=”images/stories/srv/blog/glofer1b.jpg” gal:=”gallery-content”} Another Thai golfer making his name on the Asian Tour is Kiradech Aphibarnrat. This young golfer was successful in his age group in the Junior World Golf Championships in 2003, 2004 and 2007, as well as being a member of the Thai team that won the gold medal at the 2007 World University Games. He has being playing professionally since 2008 and this year won his first tournament on the Asian tour. The professional game of golf is definitely on a high at the moment with Jaidee having won 15 professional tournaments and the others throwing in another 25 titles, Thailand has a justifiable claim to be called the number one golfing nation in the Asian region. However, it is not only the professional golfers who have everyone excited. The young players coming through the ranks are showing that they have the ability to make a successful career in the game. The 32nd Asia Pacific Junior Golf Championship was held in the Kingdom in August this year and was completely dominated by the young Thai golfers.
.
|
Both the boy’s and girl’s teams had won the three previous tournaments and were determined to make it four in a row in their home country. They did not disappoint their many supporters as both teams retained their titles as best the top golfers in Asia. The boy’s team, consisting of Nanfa Somnuek, Smithiti Teeratrakul, Thirawat Chantrakan-tanond and Kwanchai Kongtavee, were particularly outstanding. They dominated the team competition and were runaway winners, leaving India a staggering 17 strokes behind. The girl’s team was just as impressive as they stormed to victory by 15 strokes from second placed Taiwan. In the girls event Supamas Sangchan added the overall title to add to her win in the team event. To demonstrate the domination of the young Thai golfers, there were only two non-Thai winners in the championship. With the professional game making great progress in the golfing world, and the young players coming through the ranks, Thailand has every reason to be confident of one of their golfers becoming a true world class player in the future {timg title:=”Kiradech Aphibarnrat Glofer” thumb:=”images/stories/srv/blog/glofer2.jpg” img:=”images/stories/srv/blog/glofer2b.jpg” gal:=”gallery-content”}
|
