Laopakdee Defends Asia-Pacific Amateur Title, Returns to Masters

Thailand's Fifa Laopakdee won the 2026 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship on Sunday at Te Arai Links on New Zealand's North Island, closing with a one-under 70 to finish six-under and beat Zack Swanick by three shots. The Arizona State senior becomes only the second player to defend the title, joining Hideki Matsuyama, who won it in 2010 and 2011.

How did Laopakdee complete the comeback?

Laopakdee opened the tournament with a 63 but trailed Swanick by two shots with ten holes left in the final round after dropping two strokes over his first eight holes. A birdie at the ninth started the turn, and the swing came at the par-4 11th, where Swanick's approach found a greenside bunker and his recovery rolled off the front of the green. Swanick made triple bogey, and when Laopakdee holed his own birdie putt moments later, he had a two-shot lead.

A two-shot swing on one hole turned a New Zealand amateur title defense into a decided contest.

"It was a huge momentum shift, that's for sure," Laopakdee said of the 11th hole. He followed with five straight pars before a birdie at the 17th sealed the three-shot win.

What does the win mean for 2027?

The victory earns Laopakdee his second consecutive invitation to the Masters and a place in the 2027 Open Championship at St Andrews. He played both majors in 2026 after winning last year's Asia-Pacific Amateur in Dubai, a comeback from six shots down that ended with a playoff win over Japan's Taisei Nagasaki, but he missed the cut at Augusta National and at Royal Birkdale. Laopakdee has said that sharing a locker room and practice rounds with tour pros at both majors left him better prepared for a second trip.

Laopakdee's college season had been difficult before this week; he had not won a tournament since sharing the Desimone Invitational title in March. He has credited routines built around the two major starts for his composure in New Zealand, including reading sports-psychology books and journaling before late tee times, a habit he said he adopted after watching how touring pros carried themselves at Augusta and Royal Birkdale. During his 2025 Dubai win, he said he sang to calm his nerves, a mental trick borrowed from fellow Thai golfer Jeeno Thitikul.

Laopakdee has said he has followed the Masters since he was a toddler, citing Tiger Woods's dominance as the reason he took up golf, which is part of why he has called qualifying for Augusta so significant even after two missed cuts there. He is now set to make his second career Masters start in 2027, along with a second career Open Championship appearance at St Andrews.

The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is open to amateurs from across the Asia-Pacific region and carries exemptions into the following year's Masters and Open Championship for its winner.