Thongchai Jaidee
by Thailand Golf Editor
Thongchai Jaidee (Thai, born November 8, 1969) is a Thai golfer who plays on the Asian Tour and the European Tour.
Thongchai didn’t play golf until he was sixteen, and he later went into the Royal Thai Army. He didn’t turn professional until he was around thirty years old, but he soon achieved success on the Asian Tour, topping the tour’s order of merit in 2001 and 2004. He first played in a Major championship in the 2001 U.S. Open and finished tied 74th. In February 2004 he became the first Thai to win a tournament on the European Tour by winning the Carlsberg Malaysian Open, an event which it co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour. In 2005 he successfully defended his title. In 2006 he received a special invitation to play in the Masters Tournament. He was the second Thai to play in the Masters after Sukree Onsham, who did so in 1970 and 1971, and by doing so, he became the first Thai to play in all four major championships.
After his victory in the Volvo Masters of Asia in 2006 he reached 75 in the Official World Golf Rankings. His best year-end ranking on the European Order of Merit has been 37th in 2006.
Thongchai was the first man to win US$2 million on the Asian Tour.
Amateur wins (5)
1995 Pakistan Amateur Open Championship
1997 Putra Cup
1998 Putra Cup, Singapore Amateur Open Championship, Thailand Amateur Open Championship
Professional wins (10)
European Tour wins (2)
2004 Carlsberg Malaysian Open
2005 Carlsberg Malaysian Open
Asian Tour wins (8)
2000 Kolon Cup Korean Open
2001 Wills Indian Open
2002 Myanmar Open
2003 Volvo Masters of Asia
2004 Myanmar Open, Carlsberg Malaysian Open
2005 Carlsberg Malaysian Open
2006 Volvo Masters of Asia
Other wins (2)
2000 Singha Bangkok Open (Thailand)
2001 Singha Bangkok Open (Thailand)
Results in major championships
Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP
U.S. Open T74 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP WD DNP DNP T52 DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP CUT CUT DNP CUT
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
“T” = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Team appearances
Royal Trophy (representing Asia): 2006, 2007
World Cup (representing Thailand): 2007
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Thailand has been the bedrock of Asian golf for a while now.But somehow I get a feeling that for the all talk about Asian Golf being on the rise the big names have failed to deliver consistently on the international stage. Except for the odd victory, there is hardly anything else to show for their status as ‘legends’ on the circuit.
Point in case being the two Thai stalwarts Thaworn Wiratchant and Thongchai Jaidee. Till just a couple of years back both of them were on top of their game and were the ones continuously adorning the leaderboards at various tournaments. But off late they have gone completely off the boil, younger stars have eclipsed them and they don’t even seem to be in a position to get back their position. If Asian Golf has to truly grow then these veterans on tour must not only deliver on the various events on tour but also on bigger tours. We will just have to wait and watch to see where Asian golf is headed.