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All that Jazz

With a first name being a headline-writer’s dream and a surname twisting tongues for even for the best of sports announcers, Thai golfer Jazz Janewattananond has become one of the most talked-about young and exciting talents to burst onto the golf scene in the past 12 months.

ByChuah Choo Chiang-Senior director, communications of the PGA TOUR

Thai golfer Jazz Janewattananond

Aged 23, Jazz, which is a nickname given by his father who happens to be a ‘jazz’ music lover, has hit more than a few high notes in winning two co-sanctioned Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour tournaments and notched 10 other top-10s.

He is on the cusp of breaking into the world’s top-50 - he currently lies in 57th place at the time of writing - and those who have followed his progress closely since he emerged as a wide-eyed 14-year-old kid will vouch that he has the talent, ethics and a swagger, which is mixed with a genuine down-to-earth attitude, to be golf’s next big rock star from Asia.

As a case in point, a day after securing his third and probably biggest career victory yet at the SMBC Singapore Open in January where he defeated a field which featured Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey, Jazz went straight into the gym and practice range in his hometown of Hua Hin upon his return as he simply wanted to improve.

Such is his single-minded dedication that the slender Thai with boyish good looks has worked his way up the world order that even Presidents Cup International Team Captain Ernie Els has taken notice.

Later in August, he finished two rungs outside the top-8 which would have secured an automatic place in Els’ squad to face the United States at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia in December, and even if the young Thai doesn’t get in as a captain’s pick, many believe he will remain in Presidents Cup conversations for years to come.

He grew up as a scrawny kid whose first sporting involvement was swimming. When others outgrew and outpaced him in the pool, he tried playing football but gave that up too as he got kicked and outmuscled. He then tried golf after his father, a Thai judge, encouraged him to hit balls.

He wrote a slice of history at the 2010 Asian Tour International on home soil by becoming the youngest ever at 14 years of age to make the halfway cut on the Asian Tour. It was after this feat that Jazz began to think about a professional golf career despite growing up in a family comprising of high achievers.

With his parents’ blessings, Jazz joined the professional ranks a day before turning 15 and cut his teeth on the local Thai circuit and Asian Tour. With his mother chaperoning him whenever he travelled out of country, which was a requirement by law, he found some success early on, posting 10 top-10 finishes on the Asian Tour before losing his card at the end of 2016.

A few months later at the 2017 Bangladesh Open, Jazz found his winning rhythm with a first career victory on the Asian Tour and he credited his time in the monastery for the success.

Ultimately, he dreams of joining Kiradech Aphibarnrat on the PGA TOUR but he is prepared to bid his time. “That’s my goal - hopefully in the near future,” he said.

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