At the 117th Open Championship, four Asian Tour players, Prayad Marksaeng, Phachara Khongwatmai, Jbe' Kruger and Younghan Song, will take part. Finishing inside the top-12 at SMBC Singapore Open which was The Open Qualifying Series, earned them their places at Royal Birkdale. Marksaeng won the million dollar event, while Khongwatmai, Song, and Kruger placed T2. Of the four players, Song is the only one not to have played in The Open before.
Speaking about the event the Korean said, “I haven’t played any links golf before, but this is a really great honor.” Song made a name for himself by defeating Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth, who was world No. 1 at the time, by a stroke at the SMBC Singapore Open last year. Khongwatmai will play in The Open for his second time. Last year, his debut at age 17 did not go too well, when he failed to make the cut. The Thai player now has a chance to make it right at Royal Birkdale.
Compared to the other Asian players, Marksaeng has more experience playing in The Open. However, in his five-times participating in the event, the 51-year-old hasn’t made the cut yet. After winning the SMBC Singapore Open in January, the Thai player is now setting his sights on the British Open at Southport in July. “I’m so happy. This is number six for me and I am just so proud to be in The Open and make the Thai people proud of me also,” said Marksaeng.
Of course, they aren’t the only Asian players who will be there this year. A number of Asian players have the chance to create history for Asia, including Thongchai Jaidee who has already played 10 times in The Open and reached his best position of T13 in 2009. Si Woo Kim, who just won the 2017 PLAYERS Championship, the richest event in the world, will also be gunning for the title.
