Thai Golfer Wins Back-To-Back Asia-Pacific Title

Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand will play in the Masters and the British Open next summer after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship for the second year in a row. The 21-year-old claimed his title on Sunday at Te Arai Links in Tomarata, New Zealand, with a final round score of 70. He finished at 6 under par, a total of 278, to secure a three-shot victory.

The win sends the Arizona State senior back to Augusta National in April for the Masters. It also grants him a return trip to St. Andrews for the British Open next summer. Laopakdee is the only player to win consecutive titles in the event’s history, joining Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama as the sole repeat winner since the tournament began in 2009.

Laopakdee entered the final round of the competition three shots behind the leaders. With ten holes remaining, he hit an approach shot that stopped seven feet from the pin on the 11th hole for birdie. On that same hole, New Zealander Zack Swanwick, who had led the tournament, suffered a triple bogey. The four-shot swing moved Laopakdee from a two-shot deficit to a two-shot lead.

Swanwick had entered the final round with a two-shot advantage over Laopakdee and Australian Cooper Moore. He played a six-iron on the 11th that landed in a back bunker. His recovery shot rolled past the pin and into a deep swale beyond the green. He chipped back up the slope but missed a subsequent eight-foot putt for par.

"Middle of the green, make par and get out of there," Swanwick said of the hole. "I hit into the bunker, just flew the bunker shot a little too far and got a little too cute with the chip. Just had a few mistakes that cost me."

Laopakdee extended his lead on the par-3 17th hole, where he hit a wedge to four feet for his final birdie of the round. Swanwick, who had not made a birdie until the closing hole, shot 75 to finish. Kayun Mudadana of Australia finished alone in third place at 2 under par with a final round 67. Only four players finished the event under par at the wind-blown seaside course.

Last year, Laopakdee won the tournament in Dubai after rallying from a six-shot deficit in a playoff. This year, he described the victory as a personal confirmation of his form following a challenging year. He won the Desimone Invitational in March but struggled with results before this tournament. He is currently ranked No. 31 in the world amateur rankings.

"This is one of the last events of the year, and I wanted to prove to myself that I've still got it," Laopakdee said. "To pull it off, it means the whole world to me."