Pongsapak Laopakdee, a 21-year-old Thai golfer better known as “Fifa”, is ready for a historic start Thursday at the 90th Masters.
Fifa, a student at Arizona State University, will become the first Thai amateur to compete at Augusta National when he tees off in the opening round at the famed course.
“It’s a huge honour, that’s for sure, to be the first Thai amateur to play in the Masters. It’s always nice to know that you’re playing for something that’s bigger than yourself,” he said on Monday.
“Thai fans have been very nice to me. It’s nice to see how much they care and how much they support me and have my back.”
Fifa won last October’s Asia-Pacific Amateur in Dubai to claim a spot in this week’s Masters field, making birdies on the last two holes of regulation play and all three play-off holes to earn his trip to Augusta.
“I was just singing songs down the fairway in the play-off and trying to stay in the present, not think too much about what’s going on around me, just stay composed,” he said.