Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand poses with the trophy on No. 17 at DGC
The winner of the DGC Open presented by Mastercard was a 25-year-old Thai pro, Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand who has played pro golf since 2015 with the DGC Open being only his 2nd win in 120 starts. His one past victory was in Penang, Malaysia on the Asian Development Tour in 2018.
Thippong was introduced to golf by his father at the age of nine, and although his first love remains football, by age 14 he was determined to play pro golf. He’s played in India only once before – at DGC in 2015 but missed the cut, being only 18 years old at the time. His win this year showed the progress he’s made over the years.
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Thippong earned US$ 90,000, for his win this week and confessed that during the pandemic he worked hard on his fitness and played the All Thailand Pro Golf Tour, where his best finish was a 2nd place in Nov. 2021.
Notably Thippong’s caddy since 2015 has been his neighbour and best friend’s father. Their relationship enabled the caddy to convince him to go for the green from 280 yards on the first playoff hole which left him 12 feet from the cup.
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Commenting on why Thailand is churning out so many world class players – both boys and girls in the past decade, Thippong praised the organisation structure of junior golf in his country, saying, “I’m lucky that in Thailand we have so many junior tournaments so i play tournaments almost every week to improve myself and my dad or mom always take me to the golf course. Everyone works hard too.”
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With this win Thippong will enjoy full playing rights on the newly enriched Asian Tour for the next two years. He will next play the US$ 500,000 Asian Mixed Cup combining Ladies European Tour and Asian Tour players from April 7-10 at Siam Country Club, Pattayya.
A polite, always smiling, young man who is just delighted with his breakthrough victory, Thippong manages quite well in English. We hope to see him back at DGC next year to defend his title.
Credits:-
Photo – Asian Tour