Kiradech and Prom aim high
Dynamic duo bank on old ties at World Cup
MELBOURNE: Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Prom Meesawat will bring their friendship up another notch as they live up to their childhood promise of bringing more glory for Thailand at the World Cup of Golf which starts today.
Kiradech, who claimed his fourth European Tour victory in Perth in February, is relishing his return to Australia for the prestigious event, where he will be making his fourth appearance alongside debutant Prom at the Metropolitan Golf Club.
The 29-year-old has enjoyed a solid year and some of his successful exploits include breaking into the world’s top-30 for the first time in his career and becoming the first ever Thai player to earn a full card on the PGA Tour.
Coming off the back of a top-10 result at the European Tour’s season finale, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, on Sunday, Kiradech hopes to continue his fine form when he tees up with his best friend Prom, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, in the US$7 million (approximately 230 million baht) event.
Nicknamed ‘Big Dolphin’ due to his physique and the fact that he hails from the coastal town of Hua Hin, Prom is eager to make a splash in his debut appearance in the event, in which his father Suthep represented Thailand some 36 years ago.
The Thai duo will be up against 27 other countries, which include Malaysia, India, Japan, South Korea and China, in the 59th staging of the event.
The first and third days of competition are four-ball (best ball) format and the second and final days are foursomes (alternate shot) play.
“I am really excited to be back in Melbourne. It feels good to come back to Australia especially after winning in Perth
earlier this season. I have had some good results here so I’m looking forward to this week,” Kiradech said.
Kiradech qualified for the World Cup of Golf and was eligible to pick his teammate.
“Obviously, I have to choose him because I am taking 50 percent of his prize money this week!” he said with a laugh.
He then added: “We grew up together actually. We used to train under the same coach, we spent a lot of time on the golf course and he’s a very good friend of mine. We know each other’s game very well so it’s an advantage for us to play in this team event.”
Prom said: “This is my first World Cup and also my first trip to Melbourne. I’m very excited to play with Kiradech this week. Many thanks to him for picking me as his partner. I think we can do well this week, especially with this format and on this golf course.”
PIONEERING EVENT
The LPGA Tour will co-sanction a pioneering tournament where men and women compete for equal prize money on the same course at the same time, Golf Australia said yesterday.
The Vic Open, which aims to highlight
the disparity in prize money between the tours, sees men and women play concurrently off alternating tees.
The event, to be held early February at the 13th Beach Golf Links in Melbourne, will be jointly sanctioned by the European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia for the men’s competition, and the LPGA Tour and Australian Ladies Professional Golf for the women’s.
“For a tournament that has become revered for its progressive thinking, we are excited to take it to the next level,” Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt said.