Golfer wins first Masters after insane 6-shot comeback, 3-hole playoff

Imagine having the best nine-hole stretch of your life tied with a golf tournament from six shots back. Now imagine going into a playoff with three shots AFTER that comeback to set up the tournament… and the win.

And now imagine being 20-year-old Fifa Laopakdee, who did both of those things on Sunday at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship to earn a spot at the Masters AND open championship.

Yes, this really happened.

The drama began early Sunday morning at Asia Pacific Amateurannual amateur golf tournament hosted by Augusta National and the R&A, but no one thought Laopakdee would be at the center of it. The 20-year-old golfer from Thailand got up on Sunday morning in Dubai with a six-shot deficit to a 16-year-old Japanese amateur. Taisei Nagasakiholder of the APA 54-hole scoring record.

The stakes were clear: The winner would earn an invitation to the Masters and the Open Championship.

But then the game started and it soon became clear that things were going to get closer than they seemed. Nagasaki battled back from a brilliant opening three days, bogeying five of his first nine holes to dive back into the rest of the field as a host of other players began mounting an attack on Sunday.

Nagasaki rallied down the stretch, making birdies on two of his final three holes. But then, facing a five-footer for the last first to win the event, disaster struck: Nagasaki missed the putt, putting him in a playoff with Laopakdee, who had won three of the last four.

Laopakdee’s hot finish would continue on each of the three playoff holes, where two straight birdies and a sticky approach on the third playoff hole put him in the driver’s seat.

After shooting the Nagasaki birds in the last missed shot, Laopakdee was in the driver’s seat. He drained his foot for birdie and the party began as he became the first ever Thai winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, paving his way to the Masters and Open Championships in 2026.

“It means the world to me,” Laopakdee said. “To be able to pull it off is just awesome and it was a great battle. Shout out to Taisei for keeping such a hard job for me to close it out. It was amazing.”

With the win, Laopakdee will become the first player from Thailand to compete in the Masters as an amateur.