Motivated Fifa Focuses on Positives

Southport, England: It may not have been quite the celebration he'd been envisioning. But Pongsapak ‘Fifa’ Laopakdee had cause to hold his head high despite missing the half-way cut at the 154th Open Championship.

The reigning Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) winner had wished to commemorate his mother’s birthday with a sub-par second round at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

But those hopes cruelly evaporated on the opening hole where he twice drove out of bounds on the right en route to a demoralising quadruple-bogey eight.

Finding themselves in that position, many would have buckled. But Fifa, to his credit, stuck gamely to the task and was rewarded for his perseverance when he rolled home a short putt for a four at the long 14th. It was his first birdie (and what would prove to be the only one) of a tough two days that tested his mental fortitude as much as his technical ability.

Despite his obvious disappointment at signing off with an 80 and failing to meet his goals for the week with a two-round aggregate of 155, Fifa earned plenty of new admirers, not just for his smiling demeanour, but also for his good grace in fulfilling post-round media duties - in English and Thai - that others would have by-passed.

Tears welling in his eyes, he said: “Today was my mom’s birthday. I wish I could have given her a good round, but I tried my best.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t start the way I wanted … but overall it’s been an amazing experience this week. It’s not the result I wanted, but I’m sure I’ll be back here.

“I see more positives than negatives this week. I’m still young. There are a lot more paths for me, that’s for sure. I still have a long career left. Playing with (Im) Sung-jae and Danny (Brown), it was a pleasure to watch them. They’re both amazing.

“Playing at Birkdale demands every shot in your bag – off the tee, approach shots, putting, short game. It requires everything to be as good as possible because when you hit a bad shot here, it’s likely to lead to a bogey or worse. That’s what I learned this week, and that’s what happened today. After this week, it motivates me more and more and more to come back here.”

Playing partner Brown was impressed with what he saw. “He’s a really good player. He’s obviously not used to the conditions we’re playing in this week. But I’m pretty positive he’s going to be a good player in the future.”