Fifa Laopakdee, that 21-year-old Arizona State senior from Thailand, just pulled off something incredible at the Asia-Pacific Amateur, winning back-to-back and securing his spot at the Masters and British Open again. He closed it out with a 1-under 70 for a three-shot victory, finishing at 6-under 278, but the real story, the one that flipped everything, happened on one single, brutal hole.
The Four-Shot Swing That Broke the Tournament Wide Open
Picture this: Laopakdee is three shots behind with only 10 holes left to play at Te Arai Links in New Zealand. Zack Swanwick, the hometown Kiwi favorite, holds a two-shot lead. Then, the 11th hole happened. Laopakdee, cool as ice, hit his approach just over the false front to a mere seven feet and buried the birdie putt. Pure clutch! But on the exact same hole, Swanwick absolutely imploded. His 6-iron sailed into a back bunker, his bunker shot came out too hot, rolled past the pin, and then took a nasty dive off the false front into a deep swale. His chip-and-run? Came right back to his feet. Another chip barely clung to the green, and he missed the 8-foot putt. A shocking triple bogey. Just like that, a four-shot swing. Laopakdee went from two shots down to a two-shot lead in a flash. You simply don’t see that kind of drama every day. As Laopakdee himself said, “It was tough luck for Zack on 11, it was super windy. I somehow hit a great second shot and made birdie and it created huge momentu”
Swanwick’s Nightmare Continues While Laopakdee Stays Ice Cold
After the disaster on 11, Swanwick, a junior at Florida, tried to get it back, but the wheels kept coming off. On the par-5 13th, his second shot came up short, giving him a 10-foot birdie chance. Meanwhile, Laopakdee drove into a sandy area, barely advanced the ball 40 yards into more sand, laid up, then hit a wedge to 20 feet. What did Laopakdee do? He drained that long par putt. Swanwick missed his birdie. No tie, still two behind. Then, on the short par-4 14th, Swanwick drilled his driver onto the green, some 70 feet away. He rolled a putt over the ridge to about eight feet, missed the birdie putt, and then missed a 4-foot par putt. A four-putt bogey! That sent him three shots behind, and the tournament was pretty much done. Laopakdee wasn’t letting up, effectively ending it with a wedge to four feet on the par-3 17th for one final birdie, stretching his lead to four shots. He’s only the second player ever to win this event consecutively, joining the legend Hideki Matsuyama.
Laopakdee repeatedly shook his fists when he tapped in for par on the 18th, a moment of pure triumph at the wind-blown seaside course. This win sends him straight back to Augusta National next April for the Masters, and a return trip to the British Open at St. Andrews next summer. He even said he exchanged numbers with Justin Rose at the last Masters, who promised him a practice round. “Rosey, see you at a practice round for the Masters,” Laopakdee grinned. You can’t make this stuff up! We’ll be watching closely to see what Laopakdee brings to Augusta!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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