Possibly the only time Sadom Kaewkanjana’s heart rate spiked over the first round at the Open Championship on Thursday was when he drove the green at the eye-catching par-4 fifth at Royal Portrush and drained a 23-foot eagle putt.
The Thai golfer, who is an ordained monk, was presumably able to live in the present better than most in the field at Royal Portrush on a tough day of rain and wind. But even for the 27-year-old, it was hard not to get excited about an eagle that contributed heavily to a fine 68 that left the World No.262 at three under par and just one shot off the clubhouse lead.
“I hit [a] very good driver; I think it’s a lucky bounce from the green, bounce forward to the pin position and on the green and then have a good putt,” Kaewkanjana said of the eagle.
Kaewkanjana, whose entry into the 153rd Open came via winning the Kolon Korean Open in May as part of the tournament’s global qualifying series, says he rarely plays links courses, given his home country is not blessed with many. He did, however, earn his career-best major result – a T-11 in the 2022 Open – at the most historic of all links, St Andrews.
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“Honestly, [when] I play in my country, [we] have no like links courses,” said Kaewkanjana, who has three career Asian Tour wins and a T-2 in the Phillipines this season to go with his victory. “So when I play a links course, it’s a new experience for me. I really enjoy [playing] links courses. It’s fun to play with a windy course and tough conditions.”
Approaching links golf with such poise has certainly been helped by his two-week stint in a monastery studying dharma – the teachings of Buddha – in the summer of 2023. It is a ritual many Thai men, after turning 20, often choose to do.
“Yeah, it’s my responsibility in Thailand, so I think it’s a new experience being a monk,” he said at Portrush. “They help like more concentrate on the golf course or outside the golf course. It’s made me [develop] a lot of focus – forget everything outside, just live in the present. So I really enjoy being a monk.”
There is another frontier Kaewkanjana wants to apply his calm focus: Augusta National. He has never played the Masters.
“My goal is, like, I want to play in the Masters my whole life; I want to play one time,” he said. “So to get in via the world ranking into the top 50, that’s my goal.”
A strong result at the OpenChampionship would go a long way to that dream.
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CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE 153RD OPEN HERE
