Thongchai Jaidee

Thongchai Jaidee
ธงชัย ใจดี
Personal information
Born 8 November 1969
Lopburi, Thailand
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 63 kg (139 lb; 9.9 st)
Sporting nationality Thailand
Residence Lopburi, Thailand
Spouse
Namfon Latkrathok
​
(m. 1998)​
Children 2
Career
Turned professional 1999
Current tour(s) Asian Tour
PGA Tour Champions
European Senior Tour
Former tour(s) European Tour
Professional wins 22
Highest ranking 27 (3 January 2016)
Number of wins by tour
European Tour 8
Asian Tour 13 (2nd all time)
PGA Tour Champions 2
Other 3
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T37: 2014
PGA Championship T36: 2009
U.S. Open T47: 2010
The Open Championship T13: 2009
Achievements and awards
Asian Tour
Order of Merit winner		 2001, 2004, 2009
Asian Tour
Players' Player of the Year		 2001, 2004, 2009

Thongchai Jaidee (Thai: ธงชัย ใจดี; RTGS: Thongchai Chaidi, born 8 November 1969) is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He formerly played on the Asian Tour and the European Tour. On the Asian Tour, he holds the record for the most career earnings and is second in victories having won 13 times. He has won the Order of Merit on the Asian Tour three times during his career. Jaidee was the first man to win US$2 million, US$3 million, US$4 million, and US$5 million on the Asian Tour in prize money.

Early life

Jaidee did not start playing golf until he was sixteen, and he later went into the Royal Thai Army where he was a paratrooper in special forces.

Professional career

Jaidee did not turn professional until he was thirty years old, but he soon achieved success on the Asian Tour, winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2001 and 2004. He first played in a major championship in the 2001 U.S. Open and finished tied 74th. In February 2004 he became the first Thai to win a tournament on the European Tour by winning the Carlsberg Malaysian Open, an event which was co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour. In 2005 he successfully defended his Malaysian Open title.

In 2006 he received a special invitation to play in the Masters Tournament. He was the second Thai to play in the Masters after Sukree Onsham, who did so in 1970 and 1971, and by doing so, he became the first Thai to play in all four major championships.

After his victory in the Volvo Masters of Asia in 2006 he reached 75 in the Official World Golf Rankings. His best year-end ranking on the European Order of Merit has been 9th in 2013. He topped the Asian Tour order of merit for a third time in 2009.

Jaidee won for the fifth time on the European Tour in June 2012 at the ISPS Handa Wales Open. This was the first occasion that Jaidee had won on the European Tour outside Asia. He shot a final round one over 72, but won by a single stroke from four other players.

Jaidee qualified for the 2015 Presidents Cup squad for the first time and in doing so became the first player from Thailand to earn the honor. He won 1.5 points from 3 matches.

In September 2015, Jaidee won his seventh European Tour title at the Porsche European Open in Germany by a single stroke over Englishman Graeme Storm. Jaidee held the 54-hole lead by a stroke and shot a 67 in the final round to claim victory.

Jaidee claimed his eighth European Tour victory in July 2016, with a four-stroke victory at the Open de France. He shot weekend rounds of 68-68, which included a run of 39 holes without a bogey and moved him clear of the chasing pack. Jaidee became the oldest winner of the tournament, at the age of 46, since it became part of the European Tour in 1972.

Amateur wins

  • 1995 Pakistan Amateur Open Championship
  • 1997 Putra Cup
  • 1998 Putra Cup, Singapore Amateur Open Championship, Thailand Amateur Open Championship

Professional wins (22)

European Tour wins (8)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 22 Feb 2004 Carlsberg Malaysian Open1 −14 (71-71-64-68=274) 2 strokes Brad Kennedy
2 20 Feb 2005 Carlsberg Malaysian Open1 (2) −21 (64-66-67-70=267) 3 strokes Jyoti Randhawa
3 1 Mar 2009 Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open1 −12 (71-69-67-69=276) 2 strokes Simon Dyson, Alex Norén,
Steve Webster
4 26 Apr 2009 Ballantine's Championship1,2 −4 (66-71-77-70=284) Playoff Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Kang Sung-hoon
5 3 Jun 2012 ISPS Handa Wales Open −6 (71-68-67-72=278) 1 stroke Thomas Bjørn, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño,
Joost Luiten, Richard Sterne
6 1 Jun 2014 Nordea Masters −16 (69-70-68-65=272) Playoff Victor Dubuisson, Stephen Gallacher
7 27 Sep 2015 Porsche European Open −17 (68-68-64-67=267) 1 stroke Graeme Storm
8 3 Jul 2016 Open de France −11 (67-70-68-68=273) 4 strokes Francesco Molinari

1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the Korean Tour

European Tour playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2009 Ballantine's Championship Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Kang Sung-hoon Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2014 Nordea Masters Victor Dubuisson, Stephen Gallacher Won with birdie on first extra hole

Asian Tour wins (13)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 8 Oct 2000 Kolon Cup Korea Open1 −10 (70-69-69-70=278) 1 stroke Craig Kamps
2 18 Mar 2001 Wills Indian Open −17 (67-69-69-66=271) 1 stroke Ross Bain
3 10 Feb 2002 London Myanmar Open −11 (69-70-69-69=277) Playoff Edward Loar
4 14 Dec 2003 Volvo Masters of Asia −19 (71-64-65-65=265) 1 stroke Lin Keng-chi
5 15 Feb 2004 Myanmar Open (2) −12 (69-72-66-69=276) 3 strokes Andrew Pitts
6 22 Feb 2004 Carlsberg Malaysian Open2 −14 (71-71-64-68=274) 2 strokes Brad Kennedy
7 20 Feb 2005 Carlsberg Malaysian Open2 (2) −21 (64-66-67-70=267) 3 strokes Jyoti Randhawa
8 17 Dec 2006 Volvo Masters of Asia (2) −11 (68-68-69-72=277) 1 stroke Frankie Miñoza
9 7 Dec 2008 Hana Bank Vietnam Masters −15 (67-69-70-67=273) Playoff Rhys Davies, Andrew Dodt
10 14 Dec 2008 Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open −24 (68-66-64-66=264) 6 strokes Lam Chih Bing
11 1 Mar 2009 Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open2 −12 (71-69-67-69=276) 2 strokes Simon Dyson, Alex Norén,
Steve Webster
12 26 Apr 2009 Ballantine's Championship1,2 −4 (66-71-77-70=280) Playoff Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Kang Sung-hoon
13 12 Dec 2010 Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open (2) −21 (70-67-65-65=267) 4 strokes Kenichi Kuboya

1Co-sanctioned by the Korean Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Asian Tour playoff record (3–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2002 London Myanmar Open Edward Loar Won with par on first extra hole
2 2008 Hana Bank Vietnam Masters Rhys Davies, Andrew Dodt Won with par on third extra hole
Dodt eliminated by birdie on second hole
3 2009 Ballantine's Championship Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Kang Sung-hoon Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (3)

PGA Tour Champions wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 12 Jun 2022 American Family Insurance Championship −14 (69-65-68=202) 1 stroke Tom Pernice Jr.
2 24 Sep 2023 PURE Insurance Championship −14 (70-65-67=202) Playoff Justin Leonard

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2023 PURE Insurance Championship Justin Leonard Won with par on fourth extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open T74
The Open Championship WD T52 T13
PGA Championship CUT CUT CUT T36
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Masters Tournament WD T37 55 57
U.S. Open T47 CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT T77 T32 T39 T65 T22 T27
PGA Championship CUT CUT T47 CUT CUT T73 CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" = tied

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 11 8
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 3
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 2 32 16
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2016 Masters – 2017 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 0

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
The Players Championship CUT CUT CUT CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Championship T57 T66 T41 60 T9 T23 T56 T6 69
Match Play QF R64 R64 T34 T28 T39
Invitational T32 T58 T46 T60 WD T52 T57 T63
Champions T19 T29 T21 T46 T41 T11 T30
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = Withdrew
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Results in senior major championships

Tournament 2021 2022 2023
The Tradition T23
Senior PGA Championship T23 T17 T20
U.S. Senior Open T34 T4 CUT
Senior Players Championship T17
The Senior Open Championship WD T3 T20
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

See also