Kiradech top ranked Thai
Kiradech Aphibarnrat has emerged as the top Thai golfer in the latest world rankings thanks to his impressive performance at the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship last week.
Three-time European Tour winner Kiredech has climbed up two places to 37th in this week’s world rankings issued yesterday after the Match Play Championship, which was won by new world No.1 Jason Day of Australia on Sunday.
Kiradech, 26, finished tied for 18th at the WGC event in Arizona and in the process overtook veteran Thongchai Jaidee, who had been the top-ranked Thai on the world stage for several years.
Thongchai, 46, shared 28th place at the Match Play Championship after crashing out in the group stage to drop to 41st spot from 38th in the world rankings.
Kiradech also bowed out in the group stage but won two matches. He narrowly missed a place in the knockout stage after losing to American Dustin Johnson in a sudden-death play-off.
Kiradech said after his loss to Johnson on Friday: “It wasn’t my day. However, I believe that it will become my day as long as I continue to work hard.”
However, seven-time European Tour winner Thongchai can leapfrog Kiradech, who on Saturday was named the best professional Thai athlete of 2015 by the Sports Writers’ Association of Thailand, by the end of this week.
This week, Kiradech, whose target is to finish in the top 20 in the world and secure a PGA Tour card by the end of the year, will take a break while Thongchai plays at the Shell Houston Open.
They both are scheduled to participate in the Masters next week.