Football has FIFA, Augusta has Fifa: Thai amateur set for Masters debut
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Thailand's Fifa Laopakdee and his caddie Santiago Botero walk the 13th hole at Augusta National Golf Club on April 6, during a practice round prior to the 2026 Masters Tournament.
PHOTO: AFP
- Fifa Laopakdee, named after FIFA by his soccer-fan father, will debut at the Masters, his name appearing on the tee sheet at Augusta.
- Laopakdee secured his Masters spot by dramatically winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Dubai in October 2023 (reported by REUTERS).
- The Thai golfer was surprised to find his locker between Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau, calling it "a lot to soak in". (REUTERS)
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AUGUSTA, Georgia - In the same year the FIFA World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, a Thai golfer named after world football’s governing body will make his major championship debut at the Masters.
Fifa Laopakdee’s father, a devoted football fan, named his son after FIFA when he was born and that name will be on the tee sheet when the year’s first major gets under way this week at Augusta National.
“My dad is a huge soccer fan, and he was choosing between Fifa from FIFA World Cup and Uefa from UEFA Champions League,” Laopakdee said April 6.
“So luckily it ends up with at Fifa.”
Laopakdee earned his Masters invitation by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Dubai in October 2025, becoming the first Thai player to claim the title.
He entered the final round six strokes off the lead, birdied the 17th and 18th holes to force a playoff, then birdied all three playoff holes to win - securing spots in this year’s Masters and British Open.
Laopakdee arrived at Augusta National this week as the first amateur representing Thailand to compete in the Masters, and was greeted by a locker in the club’s new Player Services Building wedged between those of five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods and two-time major winner Bryson DeChambeau.
“To be walking into the locker room today, and my locker is between Tiger and Bryson. That’s a lot to soak in,” he said.
“I definitely took a picture of that.” REUTERS
