Fifa Laopakdee becomes first Thai to win Asia Pacific to earn Masters and British Open spots

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Pongsapak “Fifa” Laopakdee rallied from a six-shot deficit with a 4-under 68 and beat 16-year-old Taisei Nagasaki of Japan on the third playoff to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur, sending him to the Masters and British Open next year.

Laopakdee, a junior at Arizona State, became the first player from Thailand to win the championship that began in 2010.

The winning shot for Laopakdee turned out to be a 6-iron that cleared the water with inches to spare on the 18th of the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club, staying on the slope just beyond the yellow hazard line. From there, it was a simple up-and-down for his fifth straight birdie dating to the 17th hole in regulation.

Laopakdee said he had told Arizona State coach Matt Thurmond, “I’ll win this event and be the first Thai amateur to play in the Masters.”

He looked into the camera after it was over and said, “Coach, I did it!”

Nagasaki, who started the final round with a five-shot lead over Rintaro Nakano, was tied with Laopakdee after a two-shot swing on the 15th hole. But the Japanese teen responded by making an 18-foot birdie on the 16th, driving the reachable par-4 17th for a birdie and hit an exquisite chip to 4 feet on the par-5 closing hole.

But he missed the birdie putt for the win, closing with a 74 to join Laopakdee at 15-under 273. Laopakdee had to get up-and-down from a back bunker to birdie the last two. He shot 5-under 32 on the back nine.

“After I finished 18, I didn’t even know I shot 5-under par on the back nine,” Laopakdee said. “It was amazing golf. Shout out to Taisei. He made my life so hard.”

More sensational shots followed in the playoff — Nagasaki chose to lay up on the 18th and clipped a wedge over the water to 2 feet for birdie to stay in the playoff after Laopakdee made birdie from behind the green.

Laopakdee used his power to set up another simple up-and-down on the reachable 17th in the playoff, and Nagasaki matched his birdie with another superb pitch.

But on the 18th for the third playoff hole, Nagasaki went well left of the green, and his chip from a sticky lie came out heavy and left him some 35 feet away. He two-putted for par.

“Very disappointed,” Nagasaki said through an interpreter as he used his shirt to wipe away tears. “I really struggled to make a score.”

Nakano closed with a 71 and finished third for the second straight year.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf