Thongchai Back in the Swing on PGA Tour Champions

Duluth, Georgia, United States: After a lapse of 14 months, Thongchai Jaidee has made a welcome return to action on the PGA Tour Champions.

The 51-year-old Thai finished tied 26th in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf. After struggling with an outward 40, Thongchai birdied five of the closing seven holes in the final round to end the week on a high note and give himself cause for optimism at what lies ahead.

“It was a good comeback on the back nine. I enjoyed being here,” said Thongchai, a three-time former Asian Tour number one and eight-time winner on the European Tour.

“I struggled with my putting on the front. I played all right all week but I didn’t have enough time to practice as I arrived on Tuesday from Thailand and was jet-lagged.

“The greens here are very difficult and I couldn’t get the speed right. They were firm and fast, but with it being softer (in the final round), I had good chances on the back nine. I missed only a few greens and had two three-putts.”

Thongchai is playing catch-up on PGA Tour Champions. After earning his card by finishing second in Qualifying School in December 2019 courtesy of a final round 62, he finished tied 29th and tied 52nd in his first two events last March before Covid-19 shut down all sports across the globe.

He returned to Bangkok and opted to remain in his home country due to the pandemic restricting international travel. It resulted in him missing the restart of PGA Tour Champions last July. Prior to last week, he’d missed 16 tournaments, thus limiting the opportunities he'll have on the over-50 circuit for 2021.

“I enjoy being on PGA Tour Champions, which is a good Tour. I was stuck in Thailand due to Covid. I tried to leave the country to play here but I couldn’t do it. The situation at home was difficult and we didn’t have any vaccine then, but now that I’ve had both my vaccines, I have more confidence and I hope to spend more time in the US,” he said.

Thongchai’s next start will be the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma (May 27-30), a venue dear to his heart.

The Thai, who was a paratrooper and served in the army during his amateur days, knows every start must count to boost his position in the Champions re-rank category. He is also prepared to play Monday qualifiers to get into other Champions events should he be ineligible through his present status.

“At the moment, I’m not sure (about my schedule). There will be a re-rank and if I can’t get into tournaments, I will try to Monday qualify. I plan to hang around and to be here more,” said Thongchai, the first Thai to play in the Presidents Cup in 2015.

With an appearance in the Senior PGA, which will be his first Major start as a Champions golfer, it will mark a full cycle in Thongchai’s illustrious career as his first Major appearance was at Southern Hills in the 2001 US Open, securing his spot via sectional qualifying. He finished tied 74th in what was the first of 32 career Major appearances.

As the first Thai qualifier at the US Open, Thongchai made global headlines that week after saying in a pre-tournament press conference that he opted to sleep on the floor of his US$200-a-night hotel room as the bed was ‘too soft’.

Some 20 years on, he’s prepared to toughen it out again to make his mark on PGA Tour Champions.