As we know, golf is an individual game and, although it may seem that Tour players have the dream life of playing the top courses in the best conditions, it isn’t always as it seems; this interview with Kiradech Aphibarnrat shows the difficulty of playing away from home.
Speaking at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, the 33-year-old stated: “I’m telling you that I’ve been struggling for quite a while now. For me, my back is against the wall, so I don’t have anything to lose anymore and I think the difficult and tough thing for me is to be the only Thai player on the PGA Tour. I don’t have any friends, I mean Thai friends, so we keep speaking English and not in my language.
.@kiradech opens up about the struggles of living life as a professional athlete. He’s facing the adversity head on and is T2 through Round 2. pic.twitter.com/rn1Ydmgbh6September 3, 2022
Following rounds of 67 and 65, Aphibarnrat sat in a share of second. As he went in search to rejoin the big league of the PGA Tour, he went on to add: “To be honest I feel a little bit lonely and homesick sometimes. My family isn’t here, I’m lucky that I’ve got my Thai caddie to fly in for the last three weeks so I can communicate in Thai, which I feel more comfortable with.
“I’m looking forward to seeing some new generation come over and play the Korn Ferry Tour event. I hope they are doing hard work and you know, one day, I hope to have some friends on Tour.”
The Thai has four European Tour victories to his name, but has struggled for form over the last year or so on the PGA Tour, with his best result a T13 finish at the Wyndham Championship. During that time, he has missed nine cuts on the Tour.
Aphibarnrat’s last professional victory came at the 2021 Singha Thailand Masters on the All Thailand Golf Tour
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Such was the stress of the Tour, Aphibarnrat almost quit his life in the States, as he admitted: “To be honest, here it’s hard and I was ready to give up on living in the States. I just… feels too difficult for me. 22 hour flight home, no families around, when you’re…
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