Kiradech

Aphibarnrat

Aphibarnrat was one of only 12 players to complete the third round before weather halted play, and he made the most of his time with seven birdies to move up 34 spots to T-5 on the leaderboard with most players facing several holes Sunday morning to complete Round 3. Aphibarnrat’s total was one better than his previous best on Tour, including an opening 64 at the 2019 Wyndham, and it came in his 300th career PGA Tour round.

The Thai product has pulled out a good week when he desperately needed one, starting the week at No. 197 in points with little chance to make the Playoffs. He’s now projected at No. 163 and still has work to do, but Aphibarnrat has now gone 65-63 over the last 36 holes without dropping a shot. He’s currently two shots off the lead, though likely will face a larger deficit by the time he begins his final round as he looks to improve upon a career-best finish of T-3 (2013 CIMB Classic, 2019 WGC-Mexico Championship).

Carding six birdies and just one bogey, Aphibarnrat was able to avoid a 3-for-1 playoff at 4-under by one-stroke. This will be the 32-year-old’s fourth start on the PGA Tour in 2022 and his eighth of the season as he most recently came in a tie for 28th at the Puerto Rico Open. Missing the cut in his lone Valspar Championship appearance last season, gamers may want to tread cautiously with the barn rat as he has missed the cut in five of his last nine starts worldwide.

The 32-year-old hasn’t had a lot of high-end success on the PGA TOUR with just two podiums in 89 events, most recently a career-tying-best T3 at the 2019 WGC-Mexico three years ago this February. At 196th in the FedExCup standings, he lost his card last season, got it back in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, going 3-for-3 with a best of T20, and in his most recent start on TOUR, finished T70 (tied-last) at The RSM five weeks ago (66-72-74-73). However, in his last two non-TOUR starts, the Big Thai finished T2, one shy of Billy Horschel at the European Tour’s flagship BMW Championship (64-68-74-64), and won last week’s Thailand Masters on the All Thailand Golf Tour. The victory, which bumped him from OWGR #228 to #187, came versus an OWGR Strength of Field of zero (0), but hey, a win’s a win.

A total of 13 players (of 126) were stranded out of the late wave on Thursday. There was one (official) stoppage in play earlier in the day for five minutes due to high winds and rain (at 12:38 pm), but the conditions, primarily the wind, surely slowed the pace considerably. World No. 208 Kiradech Aphibarnrat played with the late starters and got to scoring prior to the horn, signing for a 4-under-par 33-34=67, currently T4 on the board. On nine (of 14) fairways and nine greens in regulation, he outpaced two squares with six circles and posted a tidy 1.444 putts per GIR. The 32-year-old owns 18 top 25s on TOUR in 87 events, most recently a T11 on debut here last year (16 starts ago), highlighted by a bogey-free 66 in R2, which was the only error-free lap of the day.

Possessing the 18-hole and 36-hole co-lead at the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour, Aphibarnrat came close to breaking through at Wentworth. Carding a final round 8-under 64, the 32-year-old fell one-stroke short of eventual championship, Billy Horschel. Looking to carry the momentum to the PGA Tour, Aphibarnrat has been unable to continue such play. Missing the cut at the Fortinet Championship and the Sanderson Farms Championship, a return to Bermuda could bring a return to form. With rounds of 71-66-69-68 last year, Aphibarnrat finished five-strokes off the lead in a tie for 11th. He is set to begin his Bermuda Championship tomorrow at 12:59 p.m. local time with Christiaan Bezuidenhout and David Hearn.

The 32-year-old Aphibarnrat was the 18-hole leader and 36-hole co-leader at Wentworth golf Club (64-68) before stumbling with a 2-over 74 in the third round. He rebounded with an 8-under 64 on Sunday but came up just short at 18-under 270, one stroke behind winner Billy Horschel. This week marks his second start at Silverado Resort and Spa, where he shot 70-74 to miss the cut last season. But he told media on Wednesday his goal is to keep the momentum rolling as he seeks to improve his Tour standing. “I know I have to start well to get the reshuffle, to get back on almost full status again,” said Aphibarnrat, who finished at 21st in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Finals 25 to secure his card for the season. “But I think it’s a good timing when I feel I’m playing well and all I need to do is just make sure I have enough gas in the tank. I’ve been playing a lot of golf, like six, seven in a row traveling around the world, every part of the world. Feels good with the way I’m swinging the club, carry a lot of confidence in. Hope to get a good start and then get a good reshuffle and back on the Tour again.” Last season, he made just five cuts in 17 starts (best finish was T-11 at Bermuda Championship) and finished at 196 in the FEC regular-season standings.

The Big Thai led or co-led after days one and two but stumbled with a Saturday 74. He rebounded in a big way today with seven birdies and an eagle before reaching the 17th tee. From there, he hit three tee shots (two provisionals) before ultimately finding his first shot. Still, he went on to swallow a bogey and settled for par at the closing par 5, as well. That blemish at 17th could have been a lot worse if he didn’t find his original ball and there is still plenty of positives to take away from the week. Despite spending most of his year in the States, he now finds himself at 52nd in the Race to Dubai standings.

The big Thai could do nothing wrong on Thursday but swallowed his first two bogeys of the week today (at the 11th and 13th). He bounced back with birdies on three of the next four holes to reclaim his spot at the top of the board. Aphibarnrat is feeling a sense of relief after reclaiming his PGA TOUR card last week, “I can play free and I love to hit right-to-left and left-to-right, before I was a little tight, trying to hit everything straight and perfect position, which you can’t do. Now when I got the card back, look forward to next season. I feel like I want to play my own game and enjoy.” He was not in the Race to Dubai conversation to start the week but a win this week would vault him into the top 20 with seven events remaining.

The 32-year-old eased into his round with eight pars and a birdie before the turn. That is where the fireworks started with birdies on seven of his next eight holes before settling for par at the closing par-5 18th. “My putter working very well today, a lot of good ball-striking, tee-to-green was lovely.” The Big Thai has struggled to find his game since injuring his knee two years ago at the Masters. However, he is feeling refreshed again, “After I get my TOUR card back from the Korn Ferry finals, get in the PGA TOUR again, it just like loosened me up so I feel free to play my own game. I feel more comfortable on the golf course to be honest.”

The 32-year-old Aphibarnrat finished at 21st in the Finals 25 after finishes of T-20 at the Albertsons Boise Open, T-34 at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and T-27 at the KFT Championship. In 2018, he became the first player from Thailand to earn membership on the PGA Tour by virtue of earning as many as or more non-member points as the No. 125 player in the FedExCup standings after the Wyndham Championship. He finished 83rd in the 2019 FedExCup standings to retain his membership over the past super season, but he made just five cuts in 17 starts (best finish was T-11 at Bermuda Championship) and finished at 196 in the FEC regular-season standings. Aphibarnrat aims to keep the momentum rolling at this week’s BMW PGA Championship in England, where he’s making his ninth start. The four-time European Tour winner has made six cuts in eight appearances with a best finish of T-5 in 2018.