Thai amateur rallies for win, secures Masters, Open Championship spots

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Pongsapak “Fifa” Laopakdee turned a six-shot deficit into the biggest win of his life, shooting a 4-under-par 68 and outlasting 16-year-old Taisei Nagasaki of Japan on the third extra hole to capture the Asia-Pacific Amateur on Sunday in Dubai.

The Arizona State junior became the first player from Thailand to win the championship since its launch in 2010, a victory that includes invitations to the 2026 Masters and the Open Championship.

Laopakdee’s week-ending sequence was audacious. After Nagasaki’s lead had disappeared by the conclusion of the 15th hole, both golfers birdied two of the final three holes to force extra holes. They both birdied the first two playoff holes as well, then took dead aim at the par-5 18th on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club.

Laopakdee’s 6-iron second barely cleared the water and settled inches beyond the hazard line on the slope, setting up a routine up-and-down for birdie. It was the culmination of a blistering run with five straight birdies in all. Nagasaki had to settle for par on the hole, handing the win to the 20-year-old.

“It’s unreal. I think I told my (Arizona State) coach Matt Thurmond, ‘I’ll be the first Thai to win this event and be the first Thai amateur to play in the Masters,'” Laopakdee said. “Coach, I did it! It means the world to me.”

Nagasaki, who began the day with a five-shot cushion, missed a 4-foot putt on 18 that would have won him the tournament in regulation. He 2-over-par 74 for the day.

“I’m very disappointed with myself,” Nagasaki said through an interpreter, fighting back tears. “Really struggled to make a score today. Feel disappointed.”

Japan’s Rintaro Nakano shot 1-under-par 71 to finish third for the second consecutive year.

–Field Level Media