Meet Phachara Khongwatmai. He's from Thailand. He's barely 14 years old. And, now, he's the youngest winner of a professional golf tournament in history.
Khongwatmai, an amateur, won the 72-hole Singha Hua Hin Open on the ASEAN PGA Tour by four shots with a final round of 4-under 67 to post a 13-under total. The Thai teen was born May 3, 1999, making him 14 years, 2 months, 18 days when he won. That eclipses a somewhat disputed record as to who was previously the youngest winner of a pro golf tournament.
Lydio Ko was 14 years, 9 months and 5 days when she won the 54-hole New South Wales Open in January 2012. Canadian teen Brooke Henderson was 14 years, 9 months and 3 days old when she won a 36-hole event just outside of Montreal on the CN Canadian Women's Tour.
The youngest male winner of a pro golf tournament had been Ryo Ishikawa, who was 15 when he won the 2007 Munsingwear Open KSB Cup in Japan.
As an amateur, Khongwatmai had to forego the $65,000 first-place check. Instead, Prom Meesawat and Sutijet Kooratanapisan, who tied for second, split the money.
Meanwhile, it's back to school for the champion.
“Tomorrow (Monday) is a public holiday and the first thing I need to do is call my friends and catch up on homework,” Khongwatmai said, according to First Post.
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