Kiradeck Aphibarnrat, and Thailand’s version of ‘John Daly’, singled out Asian-Tour based Scot Simon Yates as instrumental in steering him away from car racing and into golf after moving well into contention on the first day of the PGA Championship in Rochester.
Aphibarnrat upstaged some of the more fancied PGA Championship rivals including 14-time Major winning Tiger Woods, to shoot a two under par 68 on championship debut and in only his second event in the States.
It left the burly Thai golfer with a clubhouse share of 12th place and only three shots behind American Jim Furyk who enjoyed the clubhouse lead late in the day with a five under par 70.
Malaysian Open champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat steered away from car racing to golf by Scotland’s Simon Yates. (Photo – www.golffile.ie)
The 24-year old winner of this year’s Maybank Malaysian Open felt right at home in the sauna-like conditions posting three birdies after competing in last week’s WGC event in Ohio.
However up until a few years ago the big-hitting Bangkok golfer was mixing playing golf with tearing around the race tracks in his homeland.
But a conversation with Yates and a promise Aphibarnrat made to his mother on his 21st birthday changed all that three years ago.
“I started car racing when I was about eight years old but not seriously in Thailand when I was 17 years old,” he said.
“But then after talking with Simon Yates I quit when I was 21.
“I was an average car racer and was probably in the top-30, and I remember watching Simon race in Thailand because I knew also he was a golfer on the Asian Tour.
“I then started to meet him a few times on the golf course because he also lives in Thailand so I became friendly with him.
“And he was the person who told me to quit the car racing and just to focus on my golf. He said it was too dangerous to be a car racer when I was such a good golfer.
“So on his advice I said to my mother when I was 21 that my present to her would be to stop car racing and I did.”
Yates, now aged 43, won two times on the Asian Tour and was one of the first players to break through the $US 1m prize winning barrier in Asia. And while Yates loved his golf he also loved his racing cars.
Aphibarnrat helped create history at last month’s Open Championship when he was among three Thai-born golfers to tee up in golf’s oldest Major.
