Fifa Laopakdee is one of the amateur game’s brightest stars, and that was highlighted in 2025 by a win that earned him exemptions to two of the Majors this year.
Here are 12 things to know about the player who is one of the amateurs in the 2026 Masters field…
Fifa Laopakdee Facts
1. The Thai player’s full name is Pongsapak Laopakdee.
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2. His nickname is ‘Fifa’ due to his father’s love of soccer. “My dad is a huge soccer fan, and he was choosing between Fifa from FIFA World Cup and Uefa from UEFA Champions League. So luckily it ends up with at Fifa,” he joked ahead of the 2026 Masters.
3. Laopakdee plays college golf for Arizona State University.
4. He played with former ASU golfers Jon Rahm and Josele Ballester in January 2026 prior to his Masters start. “I’m lucky enough to talk to them and talked back in ASU, like Josele, and I played with Jon Rahm at the start of January,” he said. “It’s been an honor to have those kinds of guys in town and practice alongside you and give you any answers. They’re happy enough to answer all my questions, all my concerns, and give me all the tips and other strategies to use this week.”
5. He came from six shots behind to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.
6. Following a final round 68, Laopakdee earned a playoff with Taisei Nagasaki, which he won on the third hole.
7. The victory was the first by a Thai player at the tournament.
8. The win means he’ll also be one of the amateurs in the field at The Masters and The Open.
9. When he tees it up at The Masters, he will become the first Thai amateur to play at the Major.
Laopakdee’s Asia Pacific Amateur win earned him a place at the 2026 Masters
(Image credit: Getty Images)
10. It won’t be the first big professional event where he has competed. Laopakdee played in several world ranking events between 2019 and 2025, including the Crown Australian Open at the end of the latter year, where he missed the cut.
11. The victory also earned him an exemption into the 2026 Amateur Championship.
12. He has played for his country at the Eisenhower Trophy and the Junior Presidents Cup.
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