Pic Courtesy: europeantour.com
January 21, 2014. To win the Order of Merit was Kiradech Aphibarnrat’s long cherished dream and this Sunday he could fulfill it by officially getting crowned as Order of Merit champion 2013, by the Asian Tour.
“I’ve always wanted to win an Order of Merit title and I’ve done it. In the next few years, my goal would be to win a Major. If I keep doing my best, I think maybe I will achieve this,” said Kiradech after winning the merit list.
Inspired by compatriots Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant, the 24-year-old worked diligently to hone his golfing skills over the years .
“When I turned pro in 2009, I was just trying to keep my card to continue having the opportunity to play year after year. But the top Thai players like Thongchai and Thaworn all won the Order of Merit titles and I always hoped that one day, I could also have the opportunity to win the Merit title,” said Kiradech.
[highlight]I’ve always wanted to win an Order of Merit title and I’ve done it. In the next few years, my goal would be to win a Major. If I keep doing my best, I think maybe I will achieve this [/highlight]
Thanks to one victory and five other top-five finishes, Kiradech became only the second player after India’s Jeev Milkha Singh to earn over US$1 million in winnings in a single season, earning US$1.12 million.
His popular win at the Maybank Malaysian Open and a joint third finish at the CIMB Classic, also in Malaysia, were worth US$864,000.
Ranked 60th in the world as of last week, Kiradech is hopeful of breaking into the top-50 which would help get him into the Majors and World Golf Championships. His Asian Tour Order of Merit success rewards him with exemptions into the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March and British Open in July. If he maintains his current ranking, he will also qualify for the WGC-Accenture Match Play next month.
“I cannot say if I will win a Major but it is my goal to win one for sure,” said Kiradech, who finished tied 25th at the US PGA Championship last season.
Kiradech showed his consistency with all round solid play, averaging 69.88 strokes per round, hitting 71 per cent of greens in regulation (GIR) and needing only 28.63 putts per round. He also drove the ball 307 yards on average and hit 4.54 birdies per round, which ranked him the highest in the category.
