A Thai aged 14 Sunday became the youngest male to win a major professional golf tournament, organisers said, with a stunning display that left players twice his age trailing in his wake.
Pachara Khongwatmai, who was given the week off school to play in the Singha Hua Hin Open on the ASEAN PGA Tour, marched to a four-stroke victory with a final round four-under-par score of 67.
The win, which nets him $65,000, makes him the youngest male player to claim victory in a professional golf tournament, organisers said.
The accolade was previously held by Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa who was 15 when he clinched the 2007 Munsingwear Open KSB Cup.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who was 14 years and 248 days old when she clinched the New South Wales Open last year, is the youngest female golfer to win a major tournament.
Tour organisers were unable on Sunday night to confirm Pachara’s birth date, so it is not known whether he is younger than Ko was at the time of her win.
But his victory also makes him the first amateur to win on the ASEAN PGA Tour.
