By John Huggan
AL MUROOJ, Saudi Arabia — “Never work with children or animals” is one of the oldest sayings in the business they call “show.” But the first half of that increasingly ancient aphorism doesn’t necessarily apply to golf. Not this week anyway. At the Saudi International, 10 additional professionals made the halfway cut only because a 14-year-old was competing alongside them.

With exactly 65 players on three over par, that score would normally have been the qualifying mark. But Ratchanon Chantananuwat—who shot 69-71 to qualify comfortably on level par—is an amateur, and Asian Tour rules dictate he didn’t count when determining who made it through to the weekend. Hence the presence of the lucky 10 on the first tee Saturday morning.

All of which will come as no surprise to anyone who has been following the so-far meteoric rise of Chantananuwat, who goes by “TK” (the initials of his parents) to the relief of typists everywhere. The young Thai has already made his mark in the game, playing at a level far beyond his tender years. By way of example, TK recorded T-15 and T-30 finishes at consecutive Asian Tour events in Thailand just before Christmas.

At last month’s Singapore International, her finished tied for third after leading with nine holes to play. These performances have him 54th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking but more impressively 463rd in the Official World Golf Ranking.

In his next start, TK out-scored Paul Casey by eight shots, 68 to 76, on Day 1 of the Singapore Open. Even now, two weeks later, the Englishman remains enthused by his new young friend.

“TK is just very, very impressive,” said Casey, immediately after completing a best-of-the-day third round of 64 over the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. “His physical skills are phenomenal for a 14-year-old. But he’s going to get bigger and stronger and all the rest of it. So he’s not crushing the ball yet. He has all the shots you can imagine—and more. He drives it well, he chips it well, he putts it well. And he’s got great course management, which is amazing for a 14-year old. He plots his way round. But the biggest thing he has is great emotional control.”

John McLaren, Casey’s long-time caddie, had his own assessment: “When we played with him it was quite remarkable how composed TK was. He walked onto the first tee to play with a top-30 in the world golfer and it looked like he was playing in a monthly medal. Then he hit two incredible shots to the first green. He shaped them beautifully. The only person I’ve seen as an amateur. one with a huge level of expectation, was Bryson DeChambeau at the Masters. But he wasn’t 14, of course.”

Get to know @ratchanon_tk – Golf’s 14-year-old prodigy ???️@SaudiIntlGolf #SaudiIntlGolf #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/gPH3gf7rmn

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) February 5, 2022

Still, as ever when a player emerges at a young age, parental influence has a vital role to play in the on-going development of what is clearly a huge talent. And Chantananuwat senior seems to be doing a fine job so far, at least according to his son, who followed his father to a driving range at the age of 3 and was immediately hooked on golf. His first tournament a year later didn’t quite go to plan, however. Third in a field of three, he was reduced to tears.

“They gave a trophy to the winner,” he said. “I was very jealous. But I started working on my game after that. And the next year I was the champion. That I’m at this stage, really fast, is because my dad has really high expectations. Whenever I accomplish something, he just moves on to the next thing. The biggest thing he believes in is hitting balls. The harder you practice, the more you get rewarded.”

Playing alongside Lee Westwood on Saturday of the $5 million Saudi International, TK didn’t quite play as well as he had with Casey for company. But he did enough to impress the former World No. 1.

“First and foremost, he is a lovely young man,” said Westwood, who shot 71 to TK’s 74. “He’s a credit to his parents. Secondly, he has a lot of game. If I didn’t know how old he was, I’d still be thinking he doesn’t seem to have any real weaknesses. And those he does have will get ironed out as he grows.

“He also asked great questions. He watched me run one up with a 3-wood on 17 and wanted to know about that. He’s got a great opportunity to progress, as long as he doesn’t run into any of the pitfalls you can encounter out here. He just has to develop. If and when he does, he’s going to be a very good player. Hard to believe he’s only 14. At that age I was winning the Nottinghamshire County Championship. Not quite the same as competing on tour.”

Luke Walker/WME IMG
Ratchanon Chantananuwat chips on the 16th hole on Friday at the Saudi International.

As for TK himself, he was less impressed by this latest performance. “Beyond terrible,” was his initial assessment, betraying for once the impetuousness of youth. Still, he settled down to a more balanced evaluation of the 18 holes, one more on common with his on-course demeanor.

“I started off really good, two under through eight, but then the wind picked up and I was five over for the next five holes,” he said. “It was just loose mistakes, like I pulled into the water on the last hole. I probably need to do some work on the range with my dad. That’s what he said on the porch [just outside the interview area] anyway.

“This week is new for me though,” he continued. “This is a much bigger field. The players are so much better. I have a lot of work to do. I played with Cam Smith the first two days. His short game is so damn good. And they all out-drive me. That’s the biggest difference. I’m just catching up with the Asian Tour average, but the PGA Tour players are so much longer.”

Still, TK was quick to acknowledge how fortunate he is to be getting this sort of experience at such a young age. Most 14-year-olds are watching from outside the ropes at pro tournaments. Which is what TK did on Thursday after his round. On the recommendation of Casey, he followed Dustin Johnson. “He is the most planned and smart golfer right now,” said the youngster.

Long term, TK’s plan is to complete his schooling before “two years” at college in the States. His next tournament though, is the Sage Valley Invitational in South Carolina next month. It’s safe to assume he’ll be the best prepared competitor in the field. And definitely one to watch.

Ed’s Note: Chantananuwat added a third-round 74 to his earlier scores of 69-71. He was tied 53rd heading into Sunday’s final round on +4, 16 strokes behind 54-hole leader Harold Varner III. 

The post This 14-year-old Thai golfer is convincing tour pros he’s the next up-and-comer to follow appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
The mental health toll of playing professional golf during the pandemic isn’t confined to the men and women swinging the clubs. It impacts the folks carrying those clubs, too.

John McLaren, a caddie who has worked more than three decades for various tour pros including Luke Donald, Tony Johnstone, Scott Dunlap, Duffy Waldorf and, for the last years, Paul Casey, says the anxiousness and exhaustion of travelling during the COVID pandemic from his home in the U.K. is causing him to step back from looping in 2022. McLaren’s work with Casey at the CJ Cup last week in Las Vegas was his last tournament in the U.S. He intends to caddie for Casey at the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship next month and at the Dubai Desert Classic in January, where Casey is the defending champion, before stepping away entirely.

“The accumulation of the last 18 months of travel, the testing, the uncertainty has taken its toll, not only on me, but how I am at home with my family,” McLaren told PGATour.com. “And once that starts to have an impact on my young children and my wife, whom I very much love, then the questions start to arise about the sacrifices relative to what needs to be gained.

“Each weekend I’d be sitting basically with my fingers crossed, hoping that I was going to test negative so that I could get home,” he added. “And then the flip of that, obviously when I got home, I’d have to do more tests and isolating at home, etc., while planning to come back to work for Paul, thinking, well now I hope I don’t test positive with my family and children because then that’s then going to make Paul’s life not as comfortable and easy because he’s not certain his caddie is going to make it back.”

McLaren, 55, is known by the fun nickname “Johnny Long Socks” for the colourful pairs he wears on the course. He was initially hesitant to discuss the matter with Casey. However, the two have a good relationship off the course, and Casey understood the situation.

“This is a genuine moment where you’ve got two guys who are really good friends and one guy going, ‘I need to take a break,’ and the other guy going, ‘OK, I fully support that,’” Casey told PGATour.com. “In this current environment we’re in, it just doesn’t seem to happen. And nobody seems to speak about it, either.”

A few samplings of McLaren’s sock choices.

Part of the reason the decision is being made now is connected to logistics. McLaren’s work visa for the U.S. expires in February so he’d have to do a fair amount of work to get it renewed. So it was that McLaren had to decide if it was worth effort or not. Ultimately, he decided it wasn’t.

“The issue in the end is you start to recognize some minor changes in your own personality that you aren’t fully aware of why they’re there,” McLaren said. “I knew I felt different, and it was more about taking command of that situation rather than being a victim of it all.”

Mike Ehrmann
McLaren will caddie for Casey in two more European Tour events.

McLaren will be remembered for his hard work on the course, friendliness off it with fellow players and caddies, and, well, his being a pseudo fashion trend-setter.

“I’m proud of it,” he told the Associated Press in assessing his career. “It’s really hard work. I do set myself up to fail by being arrogant, thinking I can make a difference. But it’s been fulfilling.”

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