Ranking Progress for Triumphant Thailand Duo

Bangkok, Thailand: With their gold medal-winning performances at the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, Pongsapak ‘Fifa’ Laopakdee and Prim Prachnakorn have cemented their places in the top-50 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

At Siam Country Club’s Rolling Hills course last week, Pongsapak continued his rich vein of form with a commanding 11-stroke victory in the men’s individual tournament.

Six weeks earlier, Pongsapak had become the first Thai golfer to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, securing him starting spots in the 2026 Masters Tournament and Open Championship. 

Posting a 21-under-par total of 267 at Siam Country Club, Pongsapak led Thailand to a runaway win in the team tournament.

In so doing he’s progressed seven positions in the WAGR to 33rd. He’s now the highest ranked Asia-Pacific player in the standings, overhauling China’s Paul Chang (39th).

Also moving up in the rankings were Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh and Pongsapak’s compatriot Parin Sarasmut, the SEA Games individual silver and bronze medallists respectively.

Anh Minh, a member of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation’s Bonallack Trophy-winning teams in 2023 and 2025, added a silver medal to his collection and is now 42nd in the WAGR.

For his part, Parin has improved 17 spots to 164th, making him the fifth highest Thai in the rankings.

Meanwhile, Prim has reached a career-high 40th in the women’s rankings following her golden week at Siam Country Club.

With rounds of 72, 71, 70 and 66, Prim topped the individual standings by six shots from fellow-Thai Kritchanya Kaopattanaskul, winner of this year’s Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation Junior Girls title

It was Prim’s second straight victory having also claimed individual honours at last month’s Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship for the Santi Cup.

She strengthens her status as Thailand’s number three golfer with a move of five places.

Also on the rise was Vietnam’s Le Chuc An, who finished fourth in the women’s event at Rolling Hills but was awarded the SEA Games bronze medal based on the ruling that any national organisation 'cannot win more than two medals in the respective individual events'.

It was the first time a Vietnamese female had won a SEA Games golfing medal and earned her a 16-spot rise in the WAGR to 186th – the first time she’s broken into the top-200.