Jazz Janewattananond became a top-50 player in 2019, and he was introduced to broader American golf audiences with a great run in the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black on Long Island.
Since that run in New York, Janewattananond won three more times, including the Korea Open and the final two events of the year on the Asian Tour schedule. Suddenly, Jazz is in the Masters as basically in the other three majors of the year as well.
Years before Jazz Janewattananond become a top-ranked player in the world, the Thailand native had already figured out his Sunday color.
Janewattananond wears orange on Sundays, and it's been a great thing for him. But why does Jazz wear orange?
That’s why I wear orange on final day! https://t.co/cYbCU84gkw
— Jazz Janewattananond (@jazzjanegolf) December 22, 2019
The 24-year-old wears orange on Sundays because of his time he spent as a monk when he was 21 years old. Janewattananond entered the monkhood in Chiang Rai for two weeks at the end of the 2016 season, becoming a disciple of Phra Maha Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi. Just weeks after ending his time as a monk, Jazz broke through for his first Asian Tour win.
“I learned from him that happiness is the greatest thing in life,” Janewattananond told Thai media in 2017. “Before that, golf was everything to me, and it gave me so much pressure during competition. I have been competing with less pressure ever since and starting getting better results."
The experience is also why Janewattananond donates some of his winnings to various charities.
Janewattananond holds the distinction of being the youngest player to compete in an Official World Golf Ranking-recognized event at the age of 14 in 2009. Now, heading into 2020, he could be entering his own and realizing his potential.
