Thai-breaker: Laopakdee wins Asia-Pacific Am
ASU junior rallies to beat Japanese teen Nagasaki in playoff to claim majors invites
Thailand’s Fifa Laopakdee celebrates dramatic Asia-Pacific Amateur playoff win (Courtesy AAC)
Singing Bruno Mars “happy vibes” songs with his caddie all around Dubai’s Emirates Golf Club Majlis Course on Sunday, 20-year-old Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand hummed along to a 5-under back nine and three additional birdies in a playoff to reel in and beat Japan’s Taisei Nagasaki in the 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.
Laopakdee, a junior at Arizona State, won in style with a Masters-like charge to erase a six-stroke deficit at the start of the day to become the first Thai winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur and earn invitations to the 2026 Masters and Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
“It means the whole world to me,” said Laopakdee. “Being able to pull it off is just amazing and it was great battle. Shout out to Taisei for keeping such a hard job for me to close it out. It was amazing.”
The 16-year-old Nagasaki had set an APAC 54-hole scoring record of 17-under par to build a five-shot lead on the field heading to the final round. But after making only two bogeys in the first three rounds, the Japanese teen struggled to hold onto his advantage and recorded six bogeys in his first 15 holes on Sunday en route to a 2-over 74 that opened the door for his chasers. Nagasaki had a chance to win in regulation but missed a 5-footer for birdie at the par-5 18th to settle for the playoff.
“When I think of big stages like the Masters and the Open, I still get nervous, and I feel that I’m not yet strong enough mentally,” Nagasaki said. “I will practice more and get winning experiences to win at this stage next year.
“Today I was playing thinking that ‘I will protect my lead,’ but with the wind, I could not do my play. Biggest thing was that the putting did not go in today and I’m really disappointed.”
Japan teenager Taisei Nagasaki was left devastated after letting a five-shot lead slip away (Courtesy AAC)
It was Laopakdee who stepped through when opportunity arose, notching five back-nine birdies including Nos. 17 and 18 to reach a playoff where he birdied 18, 17 and 18 again in succession to outlast Nagasaki.
“I actually didn’t think about it that much,” said Laopakdee of his charge. “I was still laughing and singing songs with my caddie walking down the fairway on 18. I didn’t even know after I finished 18 I shot 5‑under on the back nine. I just try to go out there and have a fun time with my caddie. I didn’t believe that much. It’s just golf. Just shot‑by‑shot, and being able to pull it off is just amazing.”
Laopakdee had told his Arizona State coach, Matt Thurmond, before the week that he was going to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur and become the first Thai amateur golfer to play in the Masters.
“Coach, I did it!” he said in his post-victory TV interview.
“I’ve been watching the Masters since, I don’t know, since I could remember, like 2 or 3 years old,” Laopakdee said. “Watching Tiger (Woods) playing the Masters, dominating. And I think the Masters, the first event that I watch on TV with my dad … I think that’s why I start to love golf. I think that specific event brought me here. I’ve been watching every Masters since I was young. I always get emotional watching someone win. Being able to follow that path with the pros, it’s just unreal.”
Fifa Laopakdee will be the seventh Thai native to compete in the Masters (Courtesy AAC)
Thai golf fans have had plenty to cheer about at the Masters over the years including its most famous adopted son and five-time Masters winner Tiger Woods, whose mother Kultida (née Punsawad) was originally from Thailand, where she met his father, Earl, when he was on a tour of duty there in 1968. Tiger’s late mother was of mixed Thai, Chinese and Dutch ancestry, and Woods once described his ethnicity as “Cablanasian” owing to, as ESPN reported, that he is “one-quarter Thai, one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter Caucasian, one-eighth African American and one-eighth Native American.”
Officially, however, Laopakdee will be the seventh native Thai golfer to compete in the Masters, but the first amateur.
“I mean, it’s obviously amazing,” said Laopkadee. “I think all the Thai fans have been waiting such a long time for a Thai amateur or Thai pro to go compete at the Masters and the Open. This victory, I feel like it’s probably gained so many Thai fans. If I check my phone, probably tons of Thai fans texting me right now. Amazing for me, my parents, Thai fans and for my country.”
The first professional from Thailand to compete in the Masters was Sukree Onsham, who was invited in 1970 and 1971 after the former club pro at Royal Bangkok competed in the 1969 World Cup. He missed the cut both times in his only two career major championship starts.
Thongchai Jaidee competed in the Masters a Thai-record five times, making the cut three times with a best finish of T37 in 2014. In 2006 he received a special international invitation to play in his first Masters, making him the first Thai golfer to play in all four major championships.
Prayad Marksaeng received a special invitation to play in the 2008 Masters and withdrew after an opening 82 with a back injury. He returned to Augusta National in 2009 and missed the cut.
Thaworn Wiratchant received a special international invitation to the 2013 Masters and missed the cut.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat, the first Thai card-holder on the PGA Tour, played in three Masters, making the cut all three times including a T15 finish in his 2016 debut at Augusta National.
Jazz Janewattananond reached the OWGR top-50 and qualified for his only Masters start in 2020, finishing tied 51st in the tournament played in November because of the COVID pandemic.
Naoyuki Kataoka, 27, earned Masters/Open invites by winning Japan Open (Yoshimasa Nakano/R&A via Getty Images)
Laopakdee is the second Asian golfer in the last two weeks to join the Masters and Open fields, as recent Japan Open Championship winner Naoyuki Kataoka — ranked No. 500 in the Official World Golf Ranking — booked invites to his first major championship starts.
The 27-year-old Kataoka sunk a par putt on the first playoff hole to outlast countryman Satoshi Hara for the victory to collect one of the new Masters invites granted to winners of selected national opens across the globe.
“It’s really a dream come true for me,” Kataoka told The Japan Times. “I’m really happy to be able to play in the Masters and the Open. I’ll work as hard as I can, prepare by April, and do my best to be able to compete. I felt a really strong sense of accomplishment as I finally won again after enduring so many near misses during those barren four years (since his 2021 Japan Players Championship victory).”
The winners of the Spanish Open, Japan Open, Hong Kong Open, Australian Open and South African Open now receive Masters invitations starting with the 2026 tournament.
“International competition has always been a big part of the Masters Tournament,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said ahead of the Asia-Pacific Amateur. “That representation internationally has grown over the years to where it’s pretty much 50/50, and maybe even a few more, international players. So, we thought it was appropriate to sort of carry on that tradition and the culture that we’ve established at the Masters.
“Golf is a global game, and I think we always want to recognize that. We felt that not only were we living true to our values, but … maybe just as this championship has inspired young amateurs around the Asia-Pacific region, we hope that that incentive of awarding the winners an invitation, a spot in the Masters Tournament as well as the Open Championship, would also generate additional interest in those countries. I know that in Japan, recently, that was the case (with Kataoka). I think it will be the case in all these countries. So we are very excited about that change in our qualifications.”
2026 Masters Field
Here’s how the 71 players currently qualified to play in the 2026 Masters got into the field
# first-timers (13); * amateurs (6); Americans (41); Internationals (30); Seniors (7)
CATEGORY 1 (20 players)
Masters Tournament Champions (Lifetime)
Angel Cabrera (1) – Argentina
Fred Couples (1)
Sergio Garcia (1) – Spain
Dustin Johnson (1)
Zach Johnson (1, 13)
Hideki Matsuyama (1, 17, 18) – Japan
Rory McIlroy (1, 5, 18) – Northern Ireland
Phil Mickelson (1, 4)
José María Olazábal (1) – Spain
Jon Rahm (1, 2) – Spain
Patrick Reed (1, 13)
Scottie Scheffler (1, 3, 4, 5, 13, 17, 18)
Charl Schwartzel (1) – South Africa
Adam Scott (1) – Australia
Vijay Singh (1) – Fiji
Jordan Spieth (1)
Bubba Watson (1)
Mike Weir (1) – Canada
Danny Willett (1) – England
Tiger Woods (1)
CATEGORY 2 (4 players)
U.S. Open champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
Wyndham Clark (2) – through 2028
Bryson DeChambeau (2, 13) – through 2029
Matthew Fitzpatrick (2) – England – through 2027
J.J. Spaun (2, 18) – through 2030
CATEGORY 3 (4 players)
British Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
Brian Harman (3, 18) – through 2028
Collin Morikawa (3, 4, 18) – through 2026
Xander Schauffele (3, 4, 13) – through 2029
Cameron Smith (3) – Australia – through 2027
CATEGORY 4 (2 players)
PGA Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
Brooks Koepka (4) – through 2028
Justin Thomas (4, 18) – through 2027
CATEGORY 5 (0 players)
The Players Championship Winners (3 years)
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CATEGORY 6 (0 players)
Current Olympic Gold Medalist (for 2029)
TBD 2028 at Riviera Country Club
CATEGORY 7 A&B (2 players)
Current U.S. Amateur champion (A, Honorary, non-competing after 1 year) and runner-up (B)
#Jackson Herrington* (7-B)
#Mason Howell* (7-A)
CATEGORY 8 (1 player)
Current British Amateur Champion (Honorary, non-competing after 1 year)
#Ethan Fang* (8)
CATEGORY 9 (1 player)
Current Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion
#Fifa Laopakdee* (9) – Thailand
CATEGORY 10 (1 player)
Current Latin America Amateur Champion
TBD Jan. 15-18, 2026 at Lima (Peru) Golf Club
CATEGORY 11 (1 player)
Current U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion
#Brandon Holtz* (11)
CATEGORY 12 (1 player)
Current NCAA Individual Champion
#Michael La Sasso* (12)
CATEGORY 13 (7 players)
First 12 players (including ties) in previous year’s Masters
Ludvig Åberg (13, 18) – Sweden
Corey Conners (13, 18) – Canada
Jason Day (13) – Australia
Harris English (13, 15, 16, 18)
Max Homa (13)
Sungjae Im (13, 18) – South Korea
Justin Rose (13, 17, 18) – England
CATEGORY 14 (5 players)
First 4 players (including ties) in previous year’s U.S. Open
Tyrrell Hatton (14) -- England
Viktor Hovland (14, 18) -- Norway
Robert MacIntyre (14, 18) – Scotland
Carlos Ortiz (14) – Mexico
Cameron Young (14, 17, 18)
CATEGORY 15 (2 players)
First 4 players (including ties) in previous year’s British Open
#Chris Gotterup (15, 17, 18, 19)
Haotong Li (15) – (China)
CATEGORY 16 (1 player)
First 4 players (including ties) in previous year’s PGA Championship
Davis Riley (16)
CATEGORY 17 (8 players)
Individual winners from previous Masters to current Masters of non-opposite PGA Tour events that award a full FedEx Cup point allocation toward the Tour Championship
Keegan Bradley (17, 18)
Brian Campbell (17)
Tommy Fleetwood (17, 18) – England
Ryan Fox (17) – New Zealand
#Ben Griffin (17, 18)
Kurt Kitayama (17)
Aldrich Potgieter (17) – South Africa
Sepp Straka (17, 18) – Austria
CATEGORY 18 (10 players)
Eligible qualifiers for previous year’s season-ending Tour Championship
Akshay Bhatia (18)
#Jacob Bridgeman (18)
Sam Burns (18)
Patrick Cantlay (18)
#Harry Hall (18) – England
Russell Henley (18)
Shane Lowry (18) – Ireland
Maverick McNealy (18)
#Andrew Novak (18)
Nick Taylor (18) – Canada
CATEGORY 19 (0 players)
Current Scottish Open champion
—
CATEGORY 20 (1 player)
Current Spanish Open champion
#Marco Penge (20) – England
CATEGORY 21 (1 player)
Current Japan Open champion
#Naoyuki Kataoka (21) -- Japan
CATEGORY 22 (TBD)
Current Hong Kong Open champion
TBD Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2025 at Hong Kong Golf Club
CATEGORY 23 (TBD)
Current Australian Open champion
TBD Dec. 4-7, 2025 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club
CATEGORY 24 (TBD)
Current South African Open champion
TBD Feb. 2026 at Stellenbosch Golf Club
CATEGORY 25 (TBD)
Top 50 on final Official World Golf Ranking for previous calendar year
—
CATEGORY 26 (TBD)
Top 50 on Official World Golf Ranking published week prior to current Masters
—
SPECIAL EXEMPTION (TBD)
The Masters Committee, at its discretion, also invites international players otherwise not qualified
—