Kiradech eyes place in next year’s Presidents Cup
MELBOURNE: Kiradech Aphibarnrat is eyeing a spot on captain Ernie Els’ international team at the 2019 Presidents Cup.
Kiradech, the first Thai to earn PGA Tour membership and currently ranked 16th on the international team standings, said: “The Presidents Cup has always been our biggest team event for international golfers and for the Asians.
“If I can be a part of the team, it’ll be a joy for me to be amongst the best 12 international players next year. I’m currently in contention and hopefully I can do it.
“The international team consists of players from all around the world. To play against the United States, which has the best golfers in the world, it won’t be easy. But if we stick together as one team, work as a team for the captain, it is possible to win the Presidents Cup.
“Ernie is one of my heroes. Years ago at a tournament in Malaysia, we were paired together and after a few holes, he started talking to me and asked where I was playing and I told him I was on the Asian Tour. He then told me I was good enough to play on the PGA Tour and to hear it from a great player like Ernie, it inspired me and I started thinking about getting onto the PGA Tour.”
A collection of top players from countries eligible to play on the international team include Australia’s Marc Leishman, China’s Li Haotong and Wu Ashun, India’s Anirban Lahiri, South Korea’s Kim Si-Woo, Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas and Mexico’s Abraham Ancer.
The 2019 edition will take place at Royal Melbourne Golf Club and the return to the Australian city will mark the third time in the biennial event’s 25-year history it has been held at the renowned Sandbelt course which hosted the 1998 and 2011 tournaments.
Melbourne also holds the distinction as the site of the lone international team’s victory in 1998.