Gunn awakes to a new reality at The 148th Open

Gunn Charoenkul to compete against the best players in the world and having sealed his passage to Royal Portrush, at the year’s fourth and final Major.

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Thailand's Gunn Charoenkul playing a practice round with China's Li Haotong prior to The 148th Open

July 17, 2019: Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul is ecstatic to find himself in company of many of the world’s best players after fulfilling his life-long dream of playing in a Major.

Charoenkul, who regained his Asian Tour card by finishing second at Qualifying School last December, booked his place at The 148th Open after securing a tied-third result at the Mizuno Open, which was part of The Open Qualifying Series on the Japan Golf Tour.  

It has always been a dream for the 27-year-old Thai to compete against the best players in the world and having sealed his passage to Royal Portrush, Gunn is now looking forward to a brand new experience at the year’s fourth and final Major.

“This is a dream come true for me. Of all the four Majors, I like the Masters and The Open. This is my first time playing in a Major and I’m just trying to take in all the positive vibes and enjoy the experience. 

“I’m going to be playing in front of the biggest and best crowd in my entire career this week and I just want to take it all in.,” said Gunn, who has recorded 11 top-10s in 16 events across five different tours.

Gunn has not set any expectations for himself this week as his goal is to soak up the experience while hoping to calm his nerves when he steps up to the tee tomorrow.

Hero - The Open - 2019
Hero – The Open – 2019

“When I was playing my practice rounds, I was really nervous as I didn’t want to shank the ball into the grandstands where the crowd was. Even though I managed to hit it onto the fairways, I was still feeling very nervous,” said Gunn.

Being at The 148th Open has also changed much of Gunn’s outlook in life as he now hopes to take his game to the next level. 

“For a long time, I have never really appreciated anything that came into my life until I was given a reality check when I was told, hey many people would take this position you are in.

To become a world-class player is going to be the next step. I got better but to be consistently good all the time is very difficult. But that’s what I’ll be been seeking to do from here,” said Gunn. 

Gunn is part of the Thai quartet teeing up at The 148th Open this week. The others are Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jazz Janewattananond and Prom Meesawat.

 

Asian Tour Release