Kiradech Aphibarnrat Seizes Inaugural Lawrie Matchplay

Kiradech Aphibarnrat showed his match play prowess and outlasted the competition at Murcar. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports

The inaugural Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay attracted a slew of well-established European Tour players, but in the end, it was Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat who was the last man standing at Murcar Golf Links. The 26-year-old held a three hole advantage as he approached the 15th tee, but a well-timed run from opponent Robert Karlsson tied the match, setting up a dramatic showdown on 18. After Karlsson missed his birdie putt, Aphibarnrat was left to stand over a four footer for the win, which he promptly sank.

Aphibarnrat’s ultimate victory stood as the culmination of a final day that was chock full of great golf. Earlier, he knocked off Scotland’s Marc Warren in 16 holes, spoiling the chance of a player winning on his home country’s soil, while Karlsson outlasted Englishman David Howell over 20 holes. Howell did wind up winning the consolation match for third place, emerging victorious just before the dramatics of the day’s final match.

While he might not be a household name, Aphibarnrat is still one of the world’s best young Asian players.

While he might not be a household name, Aphibarnrat is still one of the world’s best young Asian players. The Lawrie Matchplay is his second European Tour title of the year, coming less than four months after his playoff victory at the Shenzhen International, and his third overall. Many American fans may know him best from his attempts to secure a PGA Tour card during the 2013-14 season. He started out promisingly, tying for third at the CIMB Classic, but he failed to record a top 50 in six subsequent stroke play starts (in his other start, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, he lost in the first round and tied for 33rd). This isn’t necessarily a career changing win for Aphibarnrat, but for a top 100 player who’s trying to take that next step and break into the world’s elite tournaments on a regular basis, every positive result helps. He’s now 67th in the updated Official World Golf Ranking and ninth in the Race to Dubai.

The inaugural edition of the Lawrie Matchplay was, by all accounts, highly successful. The world’s top pros don’t get a lot of chances to engage in match play, especially those that don’t qualify for events like the Ryder Cup or WGC-Match Play. This is because measuring players to the course, rather than to each other, produces a fairer result (case in point: Karlsson notched more birdies and fewer bogeys than Aphibarnrat, but still finished in second). Still, the head-to-head atmosphere of the format means that it’s a favorite of fans and players alike. Perhaps Howell said it best: “It is great fun, match play.”

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To top it off, this tournament has been a nice addition to what’s been a fantastic run of links action over the past few weeks. It started off with the European Tour’s Scottish Open, followed by the year’s third major, the Open Championship. Last week’s double whammy of seaside golf with the Lawrie Matchplay and Women’s British Open capped the exciting portion of the schedule. For golf fans, watching links golf is one of the great pleasures of following the sport–the one disadvantage of the recent influx is that some of us may have been spoiled by it all.

While the strong play of Aphibarnrat, Karlsson, Howell and Warren was on full display this week, it was Lawrie, the tournament host, who deserves the most praise. Although the Scot, 46, lost to countryman Chris Doak in Friday’s second round, his efforts in organizing the brand new event helped to make it a howling success. As a player who’s gone such a long time without contending, it’s great to see Lawrie try his hand at wearing some other hats within the golf world. Hey, who knows–maybe this is a precursor to a position as Team Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, either in 2018 or beyond.

A quality champion, some classic match play dramatics and great coverage of links golf. Put it all together, and the inaugural Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay was one to remember.

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