Thitiphun Chuayprakong lauded as an emerging golf star
The reigning Masters champion Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel have lauded Thitiphun Chuayprakong for an impressive display of game at last week’s Thailand Golf Championship.
Chuayprakong finished tied for the second position at the Amata Spring Country Club, outshining a number of top-notch players who participated in the event.
Right from the beginning of the tournament, the Thai youngster showed his class by posting a 66 in the first round to take the second position on the leaderboard.
He then retained the sole second spot by posting scores of 67 and 71 in the second and the third round.
The final round witnessed him add a 70 to his scorecard, which allowed him to pocket US$84,750 as prize money.
The highlight of his last-round performance included a chip-in-eagle shot from a green-side bunker on the 11th hole.
It was his best finish on the Asian Tour, which propelled him to the 21st position in the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
His previous best finish came at the 2011 Indonesian Masters and the 2012 Venetian Macau Open, where he finished tied for the third position in each tournament.
Schwartzel, who won the tournament with a massive 11-stroke margin, played his weekend rounds along with Chuayprakong, and praised the way the 20-year-old played under difficult playing conditions.
“I can’t pronounced his name … the guy I played with. Thi-ti-phun? He was very good. He hits it very short and playing on this golf course the way he did, it was pretty phenomenal. He has such a good short game and a good putting stroke. I was very impressed with what I saw and he managed to grind out a score,” said the 2011 Masters champion.
Watson, who also finished tied for the second position after carding a 14-under par overall score, was also impressed with the Asian talent emerging on the world of golf.
“The talent is so good across the world. It is a global game. As players, we do not look over and see where the player is from. We just see a good player and try to beat them,” said the American.
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