Popular Thai ace Kiradech Aphibarnrat is another bold late addition to the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth line up at Lake Karrinyup Country Club from Thursday.
A three-time winner on the European Tour, the world No.55 makes the trip to Perth for the first time following a top-30 finish last week in the Maybank Malaysian Open, a tournament he won in 2013.
Should he qualify inside the top-24 on Sunday, Aphibarnrat is no stranger to match play, he was a member of Team Asia in the EurAsia Cup earlier this year.
“I watched this golf tournament last year, with the stroke play / match play format, and it looked like a lot of fun and something that would suit my game,” Aphibarnrat said.
“I played for Team Asia earlier this year so I have some recent match play under my belt, but I have never done it before with the mixture of formats in a tournament.
Aphibarnrat is the second player in as many days to commit to the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth. He joins Beef Johnston in the field, the duo are sure to be a hit with fans for their exuberant personalities.
“This is also my first trip to Perth, so it’s going to be an exciting week for me,” added Aphibarnrat, who has been dubbed “Asia’s John Daly”.
“I’ve always loved playing in front of the Aussie crowds. They are big sports fans, they like to watch quality golf and they love to get behind all of the players, so it is a lot of fun for us as well on the golf course.
“I’ve not played at Lake Karrinyup before but I have heard good things about the course, so it should be a great week and with lots of the guys from the European Tour and Asian Tour coming down, the field is going to be hard to beat.”
Splitting his time between the European Tour and Asian Tour, 2018 marks Aphibarnrat’s first trip to Australia since the 2013 World Cup of Golf in Melbourne.
Aphibarnrat leads a strong contingent of his countrymen at Lake Karrinyup Country Club including Poom Saksansin, Jazz Janewattananond and Prayad Marksaeng making Thailand one of the best represented nations at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth with nine professionals.
“We’re very excited to welcome Kiradech Aphibarnrat to Perth, as an Olympian and three-time European Tour winner, he’s sure to add some excitement to an already talented field,” said Gavin Kirkman, CEO of the PGA of Australia which owns the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.
“Thanks to our tri-sanctioning agreement with the European Tour and Asian Tour, we’re able to host a number of nationalities in one tournament.
“We of course had the surprise packet of last year, runner-up Thai sensation Phachara Khongwatmai who thrilled the crowds with his youthful exuberance on course.”