Congrats to Kiradech Aphibarnrat - Shenzhen Int Winner

[dabhand]

Found myself watching the golf on TV on Sunday afternoon -a diversion from the Songkran madness! This was a joint European / Asian Tour event in Shenzhen, China..

Was cheering for Kiradech Aphibarnrat in a really engrossing final round. Anyone of about ten players could have won this one but, it turned into a play-off between the Thai guy and a young Chinese player who, it has to be said, looks to have great potential.

After giving up a six shot lead towards the end of the 3rd round and going into the final holes of the last round a couple of shots behind, KA turned it around at the end of the final round with an eagle on the 17th and an unbelievable 2nd shot from the bunker on the 470y par 4 last hole. He just missed his putt to win in regular play, but made no mistake on the 1st playoff hole, draining a birdie putt from similar range (about 12ft) to silence the home crowd. Fair play to the Chinese, both the losing player and the spectators were very sporting losers.

He's far from being the most athletic looking golfer but he drives like a dream and, if not for his occasional lapses of concentration, he would be in contention more often. He finished 6th at the recent Arnold Palmer event in the US so he is bang on form. Still only 25 so has possibilities to match the high standards set by Thongchai Jaidee.

Very humble guy who showed unexpected emotion when the final putt went down. He waied his mother who came out onto the final green and it was a really great ending for Thai golf.

Interesting that he won two years in a row at the Junior World Championships in the US, for age group 13-14 back in 2003/4 (under his previous name of Anujit Hirunratanakorn). Looking at the results in this junior championship, at the various age ranges, it is amazing how many young Thai golfers, mainly girls, feature amongst the winners over the last 10 years or so. Looking further back, a certain Eldrick Woods features heavily in the late 80's/early 90's!

http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/node/13407

Well, thought this news deserved a mention on the ThaiVisa golf forum. Some good news for a change!!

[topt]

Yes I saw the last couple of holes and that bunker shot was indeed pretty amazing - the commentators could not believe he got so close. I was a bit surprised he missed the subsequent putt but glad he won on the play off.

[Puyai]

I too believe he has the game to do really well. I also believe that his fitness lets him down a lot. I think the errors he makes are due to the fact he is tired during his round. It can't be easy walking 7km in heat when your over 100 kg.

[chingmai331]

When asked his (KA) favorite 'power food', he replied 'a big bowl of white rice'. So until his motivation and desire overcome his habits, his health will slowly trot downhill.

I wish him the best and many years of top golf. He does demonstrate that any body type can win at golf.

[LarryBird]

He is definitely fun to watch. Althought his weight might be a liability in someways, might also be an asset in others. He is able to hit the ball a long way while staying very well balanced, and centered on the ball.

I was hoping he would win out at Alpine, but it wasn't meant to be.

[LarryBird]

Euro Tour win for the kid.

[Thailand]

Glad to see him win the Paul Lawrie event over Karlsson who seemed to try to bore Kiradech out of the match with incredibly slow play over the closing holes.

[topt]

Glad to see him win the Paul Lawrie event over Karlsson who seemed to try to bore Kiradech out of the match with incredibly slow play over the closing holes.

Agreed. Unfortunately I think they call that Gamesmanship but glad it did not work. It also sets a bad example to people new to the game.

[chingmai331]

Well, Kiradech did play a bit reckless over the final match. Seems he needs to control the aggression and make more smart decisions. He was of course, half the age of Karlsson which maybe made a difference. i wonder if Kiredach moved up enough to play in USA, at the PGA, 2 weeks hence?

[LarryBird]

Well, Kiradech did play a bit reckless over the final match. Seems he needs to control the aggression and make more smart decisions. He was of course, half the age of Karlsson which maybe made a difference. i wonder if Kiredach moved up enough to play in USA, at the PGA, 2 weeks hence?

From Wiki: "The PGA Championship is the only major that does not explicitly grant entry to the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, although it invariably invites all of the top 100 (not just top 50) players who are not already qualified."

His OWGR is 67, so, looks like he should be playing..

[dabhand]

He looked down and out on the last after Karlsson hit his second onto the green after his wayward drive, with Kiradech, having hit his drive into a really rough looking spot, still to play.

But he hit a tremendous shot onto the green that ended up only about three feet from the pin. Karlsson missed his ten footer and the rest is history.

I feel that match play suits Kiradech as he is very much a gambler and a bad decision just costs him one hole whereas stroke play punishes him far more in comparison. He was the same in the semi against Warren where, on one hole, he had seen Warren hack his ball up the rough and, instead of playing it safe, he took a wood from the rough and almost caught the out of bounds. But, it makes for interesting play