AR
In the summer of 2023, talented Thai golfer Sadom Kaewkanjana took a two-week hiatus from competitive golf to become ordained as a monk in his homeland. The rite of passage came only 12 months after he had registered a career-best major result of T-11 at the 150th Open at St. Andrews, where one less shot would have earned a T-8 and an invitation back to the U.K. major.
Kaewkanjana, though, is now assured of returning to the links championship after securing a spot in the 153rd Open field at Royal Portrush via his victory at the Asian Tour’s Kolon Korea Open on Sunday. The Kolon Korean Open was part of the Open Qualifying Series and offered one spot into Portrush. It was Kaewkanjana’s first worldwide victory in more than three years and ironically, his last title, the 2022 Singapore Open, was how he earned his way into the Open at St. Andrews.
https://twitter.com/asiantourgolf/status/1679056939173691392
“It is a big honour to win this event; it’s one of the biggest in the region,” Kaewkanjana, 26, said Sunday. “I tried to concentrate more than last three rounds, so I could do it. I’m very happy.”
https://twitter.com/asiantourgolf/status/1926545136441319623
It also continues the trend of an eclectic mix of golfers qualifying for the game’s oldest major. Earlier this year, Australia’s Ryan Peake won the New Zealand Open to grab a spot at Royal Portrush four year removed from the former biker gang member having served jail time for assault.
At the Dunes Course at La Vie Est Belle golf club, 90 minutes out of Seoul, Kaewkanjana engaged in a thrilling showdown with his countryman Poom Saksansin (73). But a one-under-par 70 gave Kaewkanjana a seven-under 277 total and a two-shot win, while South Korea’s Songgyu Yoo was third, another two shots back.
Kaewkanjana started the day one shot behind Saksansin and was two behind after a bogey on No. 1. Saksansin made double bogey on the next to level the scores. The lead changed seven times before Kaewkanjana took a two-shot lead with three to play and held on for the tournament’s green jacket.
“I’m happy when I play with my Thai friends, it helps, and Poom is a great player,” Kaewkanjana said. “His putter and the short game is fantastic. Very happy to play with him today.”
https://twitter.com/asiantourgolf/status/1926565418967187606
Devastatingly, Saksansin came off the golf course to learn his grandmother had passed away. “It was a tough day, not too bad actually to finish in second place and keep my card but I got some bad news from my house, so the result is not important now,” Saksansin said.
The Open will be his first major since Kaewkanjana became ordained as a monk having last teed up on golf’s biggest stage at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill.
Sadom Kaewkanjana’s – Chung Sung-Jun/R&A
Entering a monastery to study dharma—the teachings of Buddha—for a short period of time is something Thai men, after they turn 20, often chose to do. “I was ordained because I wanted to return the greatest merit and repay my parents,” Kaewkanjana said in 2023. “I was cut off from the rest of the world when I was ordained, that made me feel more calm. I was able to concentrate more, which will help me improve my game of golf.”
Portrush will be Kaewkanjana’s second appearance at the Open after his debut at St. Andrews, where that T-11 showing was the best result by a Thai golfer at the Open Championship.
“Yeah, honestly, I’m very excited, of course,” Kaewkanjana said Sunday about Portrush. “I have changed my swing a little bit, I was trying to find a way to get better. So now I think I have, and I can rely on it.”
Kaewkanjana also moved to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit, overtaking Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, who plays on LIV Golf, and American Ollie Schniederjans.
Follow Golf Digest Middle East on social media
Main Image: Chung Sung-Jun/R&A
