In an exclusive interaction with 4moles.com, Thailand's young Golfing sensation Rattanon Wannasrichan shares his thought on how Golf keeps him going, that one thing he would like to change about the game and more.

 

 

By Priyanka Sen Sarkar

 

Golf in Thailand has been growing in stature over the years, with an impressive array of players making an indelible impact on viewers psyche with their Golfing skills.

 

Meet 22-year-old Rattanon Wannasrichan, yet another Golfing sensation from Thailand, who has been demurely clambering up the performance ladder with a string of remarkable performances over the past few months.

 

 

 

 

From securing a wire-to-wire victory at the 2017 Thailand Open for his first Asian Tour title to representing Thailand during his amateur days and winning the team and individual gold medals at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia, the young gun has done it all and with élan.

 

Rattanon, who’s currently ranked world no 323, recently made his strong presence felt at the Resorts World Manilla Masters 2017.

 

In an exclusive interaction with 4moles.com, Rattanon Wannasrichan shares his thought on how Golf keeps him going, that one thing he would like to change about the game and more.

 

 

‘Golf helps me to widen my social network’

 

 

 

 

 

For Rattanon, the exhilaration of gaining novel experiences inspired him to take Golf.

 

“First, this is one game where you go out and forget about everything else. Second, by exercising my Golfing skills, I get to meet new people and gain a lot of experiences. It helps me widen my social network. Also, there are a lot of things I'm very privileged I can do which others cannot at my age. I've come to learn more that the life I'm living is pretty awesome by playing Golf,” shares the young Golfing sensation. 

 

 

‘How about carrying more than 14 clubs?’

 

 

 

 

 

Golf pundits swear by the rules of the game. But the 22-year-old Golfer strongly feels that if he’s given a chance to change that one fundamental rule of Golf, it would be allowing a Golfer to carry more than 14 Golf clubs during tournaments.

 

“Even professional golfers sometimes err and wind up being penalized for carrying too many clubs. I say we should be able to take as many clubs as we can. Why set limitations? Golf needs to do anything it can to attract and keep its players,” shares Rattanon.

 

 

‘Prize money – a huge motivation’

 

 

 

 

American Golf legend Ben Hogan once stated loud and clear that "if the Masters offered no money at all, I would be here trying just as hard."

 

Echoing similar sentiments, the 22-year-old Thai player says, “Nowadays, there are a lot of tournaments in Thailand and the prize money is much higher than before. I think this is one of the major reasons that are motivating Thai Golfers to sweat, work harder in playing their game. Even the odd tournament win over a long career on the PGA Tour can ensure a player earns much more.”

 

You have to give it to the young gun for his views.  Whether it’s Tiger Woods' $1.4bn career or Rory McIlroy's $50m year, the sport is known to churn out millionaires overnight.

 

Rattanon is quick to add that there are a lot of good Golfers in Thailand but they fail to live up to their potential as they do not get enough support in terms of funding. “This needs to be changed.  I think social media can be a potent weapon to spread out the word about our talented players,” adds the Golfer.

 

 

On growing up in his sport

 

 

 

 

Rattanon enthuses that Golf is not only helping him grow as a player, but also as a person. Now, that’s something all Golfers would vouch for!

 

"You learn to mature quicker. Being in the Golfing circuit has helped me talk and think in a perspective that's not how a 22-year-old would, but how a 30-year-old would. It's grown me not only as a player but as a person. The game of Golf is not only an enormous aspect of my career and what I do as a job, but it's a huge aspect of me growing as a person,” says he.