Thai aces expected to deliver more next year
Santi promises to continue supporting professionals and amateurs
Santi Bhirombhakdi, chief of Singha Corporation and a long-time supporter of golf, says development of the sport in the Kingdom has been on the right track and more success seems to be in store.
Many Thai golfers have produced impressive results this year.
On the European Tour, Thongchai Jaidee claimed his seventh Tour triumph at the European Open while Kiradech Aphibarnrat took two more titles to carry his tally to three.
Two weeks ago, Thongchai rose to 28th spot in the world — the bestever ranking held by Thailand’s male golfers.
Veteran Prayad Marksaeng, 49, won his fifth Japan Golf Tour title at the Fukushima Open and in the past fortnight, young guns Danthai Boonma, 19, and Natipong Srithong, 22, claimed their maiden Asian Tour titles.
On the women’s side, Pornanong Phatlum has also enjoyed a fine run on the LPGA Tour this season.
“I am quite happy to see them make progress and represent Thailand on the world stage,” Santi told the Bangkok Post. “Their coaches also deserve credit.” Santi said the success of Thai players has served as a catalyst to get more people interested in the game.
“Watching golf is more entertaining for us when there are Thais to cheer for and recently there has been a Thai in contention almost every week,” he said.
Santi, 69, said he remained committed to supporting both professional and amateur players and providing them with stages to hone their skills.
“More needs to be done as there are many bigger challenges ahead and our players still need to improve,” Santi said.
“I hope to see a number of Thais playing on the PGA and LPGA tours.”
Santi is expecting even better performances from Thongchai, world No.39 Kiradech, who finished 10th and 13th in the Race to Dubai respectively, and Prayad.
He also singled out 18-year-old Chiang Rai-native Budsabakorn Sukapan, winner of the team gold and individual silver medals at the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea, as a potential LPGA Tour winner.
Less than one year after turning professional, Budsabakorn has bagged two titles on the China LPGA Tour and is among eight Thais to qualify for the final stage of the LPGA Q-school to be held from Nov 30 rto Dec 6.
Meanwhile, Rangsrid Luxitanond, president of the Thailand Golf Association, praised former national team players Danthai and Natipong, who were members of the bronze-winning team at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
Turning pro last December, Danthai upset a star-studded field to win the World Classic Championship in Singapore two weeks ago and, a few days later, Natipong won the Manila Masters in his only fourth Asian Tour event.
Rangsrid: “It is just the beginning of their careers. They have the potential to grow but they need to be more committed.”
Natipong, a fourth year law student at Thammasat University, said the Manila victory is a big moralebooster for him.
“The win came a bit fast actually, but I have played quite well since turning pro,” he said.
Natipong added: “When hosting events, we should ask for more local representation. There were about 30 local [Filipino] players at the Manila Masters last week, which is a very good way to develop the sport. This is what we need to do in Thailand as well.
“The Thai golfers can excel on the international stage because we now receive bigger support from the public and private sectors.”