Kiradech Aphibarnrat (; born Anujit Hirunratanakorn, 23 July 1989) is a Thai

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who plays on the Asian, European, and PGA Tours.

Amateur career

In both 2003 and 2004, Aphibarnrat won his age group at the

Junior World Golf Championships The IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championships are held in San Diego, California, United States each year, currently in July and conducted by the San Diego Junior Golf Association. They include tournaments for six age groups ranging from under-6 to ...

. In 2007, he was on the gold medal team at the

2007 Summer Universiade The 2007 Summer Universiade officially known as the XXIV Summer Universiade and commonly known as Bangkok Universiade, was an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport for university athletes that took place from 8 to 18 August 2007 in Bangkok, ...

and took a silver in the individual event at the

2007 Southeast Asian Games The 2007 Southeast Asian Games ( th, กีฬาแห่งเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ 2007, Kila haeng echiye tawan oak chiyeng tai 2007), officially known as the 24th Southeast Asian Games, was a South ...

Professional career

Aphibarnrat turned professional in 2008 and began playing on the

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...

and the

Japan Golf Tour The Japan Golf Tour ( ja, 日本ゴルフツアー機構) is a prominent golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offers the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after th ...

in 2009. HIs first professional victory came in 2009 at the Mercedes-Benz Tour's Singha Pattaya Open, which he won by 11 strokes, earning US$50,000. Aphibarnrat's first Asian Tour win was at the 2011

SAIL Open The SAIL-SBI Open was a golf tournament on the Asian Tour, played in India between 2008 and 2014. It was co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India. The title sponsors were Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and State Bank of India ...

. Aphibarnrat's first victory on the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

was at the

Maybank Malaysian Open The Malaysian Open is a men's professional golf tournament currently played on the Asian Tour. Notable past winners include world number one golfers Vijay Singh and Lee Westwood (both players winning the event on two occasions). Other notable ...

in March 2013. The event was co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, thus giving him a second win on that tour. In the event, which shortened to 54 holes due to thunderstorms, Aphibarnrat defeated

Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari (born 11 February 1981) is an Italian professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, where he is a three-time winner. He was also the 2005 U.S. Amateur champion; 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader; winner, with his brother ...

by one stroke. He won his second European Tour title at the Shenzhen International in a sudden death playoff over

Li Haotong Li Haotong (, born 3 August 1995) is a Chinese professional golfer. Career Li turned professional in 2011 and played his early pro career on the OneAsia Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia. He also competed in a few European Tour events. Li qua ...

. Having led the tournament at the 54 hole stage, he trailed late in the back nine, but eagled the 17th hole and then missed a birdie putt on the 18th for the outright victory. He would go on to birdie the first extra hole to claim victory. Aphibarnrat became only the second player from Thailand, after

Thongchai Jaidee Thongchai Jaidee ( th, ธงชัย ใจดี; , born 8 November 1969) is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He formerly played on the Asian Tour and the European Tour. On the Asian Tour, he holds the record for ...

, to record multiple European Tour wins. In 2018, Aphibarnrat gained membership status on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

for the 2018–19 season. He became the first PGA Tour member from Thailand. In September 2021, Aphibarnrat shot rounds of 64-68 to hold the 36-hole lead at the

BMW PGA Championship The BMW PGA Championship is an annual men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour. It was founded in 1955 by the Professional Golfers' Association, and originally called the British PGA Championship. History The BMW PGA Championship ...

. A third round 74 saw him fall out of contention. He responded with a final-round 64 on Sunday to eventually finish in a tie for second place, one shot behind

Billy Horschel William John Horschel (born December 7, 1986) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. Early years and amateur career Horschel was born and raised in Grant, Florida. He attended Bayside High School in neighborin ...

. Aphibarnrat is sometimes referred to as "Asia's John Daly", a comparison of his "unathletic" physique to the similarly large body type of two-time major championship winner John Daly.

Amateur wins

*2003

(Boys 13–14) *2004

(Boys 13–14)

Professional wins (12)

European Tour wins (4)

*''Note: The 2013 Maybank Malaysian Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.''
¹Co-sanctioned by the

²Co-sanctioned by the

PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ra ...

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

Asian Tour wins (3)

*''Note: The 2013 Maybank Malaysian Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.''
¹Co-sanctioned by the

²Co-sanctioned by the

Asian Tour playoff record (0–1)

Asian Development Tour wins (3)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

All Thailand Golf Tour The All Thailand Golf Tour (or simply as ATGT) is the main professional golf tour played by both men and women in Thailand. All Thailand Golf Tour office is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally the TPC Tour, it adopted the name All Thaila ...

All Thailand Golf Tour wins (6)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

ASEAN PGA Tour The ASEAN PGA Tour was a men's developmental professional golf tour. It was formed in 2007 and was created to give more competitive opportunities to young and upcoming professionals in the Southeast Asia region. The tour acted as a developmental ...

²Co-sanctioned by the

Asian Development Tour The Asian Development Tour, founded in 2010, is a professional golf tour. It is the development tour for the Asian Tour, with a relationship analogous to the Web.com Tour to the PGA Tour and the Challenge Tour to the European Tour. Players who fail ...

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2016 PGA – 2018 Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 0

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

''Results not in chronological order before 2015.'' QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied

Team appearances

Amateur * Bonallack Trophy (representing Asia/Pacific): 2006 *

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

(representing Thailand):

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

(winners) Professional *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(representing Thailand):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Royal Trophy The Royal Trophy was a men's professional team golf tournament which was played between 2006 and 2013. The competing teams represented Europe and Asia. Eight man teams played a series of 16 matches involving foursomes, four-ball and singles for the ...

(representing Asia):

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

(winners),

EurAsia Cup The EurAsia Cup was a biennial men's professional team golf tournament between teams representing Europe and Asia. It started in 2014, superseding the Royal Trophy which had been played from 2006 to 2013. It was previously held at the Glenmarie ...

(representing Asia):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* Amata Friendship Cup (representing Thailand):

(winners)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aphibarnrat, Kiradech

Kiradech Aphibarnrat Kiradech Aphibarnrat (; born Anujit Hirunratanakorn, 23 July 1989) is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the Asian, European, and PGA Tours. Amateur career In both 2003 and 2004, Aphibarnrat won his age group at the Junior World Golf Champi ...

Asian Tour golfers Japan Golf Tour golfers European Tour golfers PGA Tour golfers

Golfers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Golfers at the 2006 Asian Games

Southeast Asian Games medalists in golf

Competitors at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games Universiade medalists in golf

Medalists at the 2007 Summer Universiade

1989 births Living people