Thongchai Jaidee (; , 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.2001 U.S. Open results 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 Open Amateur Championship 1997 Putra Cup 1998 Putra Cup, Singapore Open Amateur Championship, Thailand Open Amateur Championship

Professional wins (22) European Tour wins (8) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up122 Feb 2004Carlsberg Malaysian Open1−14 (71-71-64-68=274)2 strokes Brad Kennedy220 Feb 2005Carlsberg Malaysian Open1 (2)−21 (64-66-67-70=267)3 strokes Jyoti Randhawa31 Mar 2009Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open1−12 (71-69-67-69=276)2 strokes Simon Dyson, Alex Norén, Steve Webster426 Apr 2009Ballantine's Championship1,2−4 (66-71-77-70=284)Playoff Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Kang Sung-hoon53 Jun 2012ISPS Handa Wales Open−6 (71-68-67-72=278)1 stroke Thomas Bjørn, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Joost Luiten, Richard Sterne61 Jun 2014Nordea Masters−16 (69-70-68-65=272)Playoff Victor Dubuisson, Stephen Gallacher727 Sep 2015Porsche European Open−17 (68-68-64-67=267)1 stroke Graeme Storm83 Jul 2016Open 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.YearTournamentOpponentsResult12009Ballantine's Championship Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Kang Sung-hoonWon with birdie on first extra hole22014Nordea Masters Victor Dubuisson, Stephen GallacherWon with birdie on first extra hole

Asian Tour wins (13) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up18 Oct 2000Kolon Cup Korea Open1−10 (70-69-69-70=278)1 stroke Craig Kamps218 Mar 2001Wills Indian Open−17 (67-69-69-66=271)1 stroke Ross Bain310 Feb 2002London Myanmar Open−11 (69-70-69-69=277)Playoff Edward Loar414 Dec 2003Volvo Masters of Asia−19 (71-64-65-65=265)1 stroke Lin Keng-chi515 Feb 2004Myanmar Open (2)−12 (69-72-66-69=276)3 strokes Andrew Pitts622 Feb 2004Carlsberg Malaysian Open2−14 (71-71-64-68=274)2 strokes Brad Kennedy720 Feb 2005Carlsberg Malaysian Open2 (2)−21 (64-66-67-70=267)3 strokes Jyoti Randhawa817 Dec 2006Volvo Masters of Asia (2)−11 (68-68-69-72=277)1 stroke Frankie Miñoza97 Dec 2008Hana Bank Vietnam Masters−15 (67-69-70-67=273)Playoff Rhys Davies, Andrew Dodt1014 Dec 2008Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open−24 (68-66-64-66=264)6 strokes Lam Chih Bing111 Mar 2009Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open2−12 (71-69-67-69=276)2 strokes Simon Dyson, Alex Norén, Steve Webster1226 Apr 2009Ballantine's Championship1,2−4 (66-71-77-70=280)Playoff Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Kang Sung-hoon1312 Dec 2010Johnnie 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.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result12002London Myanmar Open Edward LoarWon with par on first extra hole22008Hana Bank Vietnam Masters Rhys Davies, Andrew DodtWon with par on third extra holeDodt eliminated by birdie on second hole32009Ballantine's Championship Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Kang Sung-hoonWon with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (3) 2000 Singha Bangkok Open (Thailand) 2001 Singha Bangkok Open (Thailand) 2019 GolfSixes Cascais (with Phachara Khongwatmai)

PGA Tour Champions wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up112 Jun 2022American Family Insurance Championship−14 (69-65-68=202)1 stroke Tom Pernice Jr.224 Sep 2023PURE Insurance Championship−14 (70-65-67=202)Playoff Justin Leonard

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12023PURE Insurance Championship Justin LeonardWon with par on fourth extra hole

Results in major championships Tournament200120022003200420052006200720082009Masters TournamentCUTU.S. OpenT74The Open ChampionshipWDT52T13PGA ChampionshipCUTCUTCUTT36 Tournament20102011201220132014201520162017Masters TournamentWDT375557U.S. OpenT47CUTCUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTCUTT77T32T39T65T22T27PGA ChampionshipCUTCUTT47CUTCUTT73CUT

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

Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 11 8PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 3Totals 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 Tournament2009201020112012201320142015The Players ChampionshipCUTCUTCUTCUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut

Results in World Golf Championships Results not in chronological order prior to 2015. Tournament2002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017ChampionshipT57T66T4160T9T23T56T669Match PlayQFR64R64T34T28T39InvitationalT32T58T46T60WDT52T57T63ChampionsT19T29T21T46T41T11T30

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 Results not in chronological order Tournament 202120222023202420252026Senior PGA ChampionshipT23T17T20WDCUTT22The TraditionT23T22T19T15U.S. Senior OpenT34T4CUTT5T6158Senior Players ChampionshipT17T40T46T67The Senior Open ChampionshipWDT3T20T32

CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances Dynasty Cup (representing Asia): 2003 (winners), 2005 (winners) Royal Trophy (representing Asia): 2006, 2007, 2009 (winners), 2010, 2011, 2013 World Cup (representing Thailand): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2016 EurAsia Cup (representing Asia): 2014 (playing captain), 2016 Presidents Cup (representing the International team): 2015 Amata Friendship Cup (representing Thailand): 2018 (winners)

See also List of golfers with most Asian Tour wins List of golfers with most European Tour wins

References

External links