Thongchai Jaidee
is a Thai golfer who plays on the Asian Tour and the European Tour.
Thongchai didn't play golf until he was sixteen, and he later went into the Royal Thai Army. He didn't turn professional until he was around thirty years old, but he soon achieved success on the Asian Tour, topping the tour's order of merit in 2001 and 2004. He first played in a major championship in the 2001 U.S. Open and finished tied 74th. In February 2004 he became the first Thai to win a tournament on the European Tour by winning the Carlsberg Malaysian Open, an event which it co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour. In 2005 he successfully defended his title. In 2006 he received a special invitation to play in the Masters Tournament. He was the second Thai to play in the Masters after Sukree Onsham, who did so in 1970 and 1971, and by doing so, he became the first Thai to play in all four major championships.
After his victory in the Volvo Masters of Asia in 2006 he reached 75 in the Official World Golf Rankings. His best year-end ranking on the European Order of Merit has been 37th in 2006.
Thongchai was the first man to win US$2 million on the Asian Tour.
Prayad Marksaeng
He was a member of Thailand's winning golf team at the 1987 South East Asian Games and turned professional in 1991. He has been a member of the Asian Tour since it began in its modern form in 1995. He was won six events on the tour, becoming one of the first ten men to reach a million U.S. dollars in career earnings. He has also competed on the Japan Golf Tour and in 2008 won his first tournament in Japan at the Mitsubishi Diamond Cup Golf.
He represented Thailand at the 2007 OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup and has been featured in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings
Thaworn Wiratchant
He has won 10 events on the Asian Tour which is more than any other player. In March 2005, he won the Enjoy Jakarta Standard Chartered Indonesia Open, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour, becoming the second Thai after Thongchai Jaidee to win a European Tour event. He topped the Asian Tour money list in 2005, becoming the first man to win more than half a million U.S. dollars on that tour in a season. In 2007 he won the Midea China Classic in a three man playoff.
Boonchu Ruangkit
As a young man, Boonchu tried for a career in kick boxing, but he gave it up after being knocked out cold in his third bout. He made his mark in golf when he won the 1985 Australian Amateur and he turned professional the following year. He has won five titles on the Asian Tour since its first modern season in 1995, and has several other victories to his name. He was the runner-up on the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 1995 and also made the top ten in 1998 and 2004. In the latter year he won the Thailand Open for the second time in his career at the age of 47.
In 2006 Boonchu turned fifty and became eligible to play in senior tournaments. He finished first in the 2006 Champions Tour Qualifying School and joined the Champions Tour in 2007.
Thammanoon Srirot
He has five Asian Tour wins and was one of the first ten men to reach one million dollars in Asian Tour career earnings. He has five brothers who are professional golfers and is a cousin of Asian Tour golfer Chawalit Plaphol, with whom he represented Thailand in the 2000 WGC-World Cup.
Chawalit Plaphol
He took up golf at the age of twelve and won team and individual gold medals for Thailand at the 1995 South East Asian Games. He turned professional in 1996 and has been a regular competitor on the Asian Tour since that year. He has won two Asian Tour events and in 2005 he achieved a career best order of merit placing of seventh. He also plays on the Japan Golf Tour, on which he was victorious in the 2004 ANA Open. He represented Thailand in the 2000 WGC-World Cup alongside his cousin Thammanoon Srirot.
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