Kiradech eyes top 50 and place in Olympics

An army of journalists was there with his family to greet the Thai No 2 at Suvarnabhumi Airport at dawn yesterday upon his arrival from Scotland, where he beat Robert Karlsson of Sweden for the Paul Lawrie Matchplay title.

He dedicated the win, his first European victory outside Asia, to his mum Suppanikar ahead of Mother’s Day on August 12.

“This win is a present for my mother as this is a month for mothers in Thailand. I celebrated my birthday last month and, as luck would have it, I played poorly and barely made any cuts,” said the 26-year-old who jumped from 92 in the world to 67 this week.

Kiradech said his target is to reach the top 50 and qualify for next year’s Olympics, where the top 60 will play.

“My goal now is to be in the top 50. I have talked a lot with Thongchai [Jaidee] about the Olympics. We will try to play well and hope to put ourselves in a good position for a chance to go to Brazil,” added Kiradech, who will take part in the PGA Championship in Wisconsin from August 13-16.

“I’m quite confident now and will try to get ready for the PGA Championship. No player is ever 100 per cent as they have to travel week in week out.”

Kiradech’s best attempt in the year’s last Major was a tied 25th in 2013. Apart from the victory in Scotland, he has also won two European titles – the 2011 Sail Open in India and 2013 Malaysian Open.  

“At the moment my overall game is almost perfect. I have begun to adjust to the weather conditions and courses in Europe after spending five to six weeks over there. My game plan and shots are getting better. But I might have made the fans a bit  nervous as I had to play 36 holes over two days, which  affected my physical condition and my swing,” said Kiradech of his play in the final of Paul Lawrie Matchplay.