Pattaya, Thailand, August 18: Prom Meesawat will aim to put his recent poor form behind him in a determined bid to emulate his father’s historic achievement with victory in next week’s Thailand Open on OneAsia.The burly 26-year-old Prom has dreamt of winning the title since watching his father birdie the final hole at Army Golf Club in Bangkok to beat the likes of Vijay Singh and David Toms and become the first Thai to win his home Open in 1991.
The Thailand Open debuts on OneAsia at Burapha Golf Club from August 26-29 with a record prize purse of US$1 million.
Prom, tipped for greatness after a brilliant amateur career, has endured a miserable 18 months with first injury and then poor driving blighting his game but wants to make an impression at the Thailand Open.
“My game has not been so good of late,” said Prom, who is nicknamed the ‘Big Dolphin’. “I have recovered from injury but I cannot hit my driver – the rest of my game is okay.
“I am thinking about the mechanics (of driving) too much and do not have any confidence. But I have been trying hard to get my game up in shape for the Thailand Open – it is such a big tournament with a lot of personal significance for me.”
Prom, whose sole victory on the Asian circuit came at the 2006 SK Telecom Open, knows that he will always be judged on his performances in the Thailand Open given his father’s success in the storied tournament.
“When my father is asked by one of my uncles or his friends how good I am at golf, he says that I still have to win the Thailand Open like him,” said Prom.
“He is right. I still do not have the King’s Trophy at home. It is the tournament every Thai golfer wants to win and I have more reasons to win it (than the others).”
The then six-year-old Prom was on hand to watch the dramatic conclusion to the 1991 Thailand Open and his father’s final hole heroics are still fresh in his memory.
“His second shot on 18 was amazing,” recalled Prom. “He drew the ball 30 yards around the trees to five feet and holed the birdie putt to win.
“I had already started playing golf at the time but I had not started thinking about winning the Thailand Open.”
Veteran Boonchu Raungkit is the only other Thai to have won his home Open in 1992 and 2004.
Burapha Golf Club is a happy hunting ground for Prom as he won the Singha Pattaya Open there in 2006 although that tournament was played on a different layout than the one to be used for the Thailand Open.
Fellow Thais Thaworn Wiratchant, a former Asian number one, the colourful Udorn Duangdecha and young gun Kiradech Aphibarnrat have also won titles at Burapha Golf Club, along with Hua Hin-based Scotsman Simon Yates.
China’s Liang Wenchong, who jumped to 60th in the world rankings after his magnificent eighth place finish in last week’s PGA Championship, will take over top spot on the OneAsia Order of Merit with victory in the Thailand Open.
Liang, like Thaworn a former Asian number one, has had a great season on OneAsia with victory in the Luxehills Chengdu Open and a runner-up finish at the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta.
This year’s Thailand Open is being co-sponsored by Singha Corporation, PTT Public Company Limited, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Emirates, and CAT Telecom Public Company Limited.
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About OneAsia
OneAsia is a non-profit organisation developed to maximize elite tournament opportunities in Asia-Pacific. The Founding members of OneAsia are the China Golf Association, the Korea Golf Tour, the Korea Golf Association and the PGA of Australia. The mission of OneAsia is not just to allow the region’s best players to gain access to more events, but to ultimately provide them with an alternative pathway to the PGA Tour and the European Tour, thus retaining the best golfing talent in the region without compromising their development.
For more information, please contact:
Janice Lee Fang
PR & Media Manager - OneAsia
Mobile: +65 8268 8155
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Simon Wilson
Media Manager - World Sport Group
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