MADISON, Wisc. — The leaderboard was crowded throughout the final round Sunday during the PGA Tour Champions’ American Family Insurance Championship at University Ridge. At one point, nine golfers were tied for first.
Thongchai Jaidee, a former paratrooper in the Royal Thai Army, calmly waited for his opportunity and then pounced to the claim the title.
Jaidee avoided a total disaster on No. 16 and then took sole possession of the lead with a birdie putt from around 20 feet on the next hole. The 52-year-old then made par on the 18th hole to become the first player from Thailand to win on the tour. He won with a 14-under 202 total after shooting a 68 on Sunday.
“Great tournament here,” Jaidee said. “I played solid, solid, solid week. I took one mistake on 16, hit the 3 and lost the ball. We make good bogey and try to get my plan. Holed a good putt on 17 and the game changed. I think my confidence on the putting, that’s why helped me a lot for this week.”
Jaidee’s steeliness shouldn’t come as a surprise to those familiar with his background. He started playing golf as a 16-year-old in Thailand. He played more once he joined the army, which had a team. Jaidee didn’t turn pro until he turned 30. He won 21 times on the European and Asian Tours.
“I think the Army helped me a lot,” Jaidee said. “My Army training is very hard, make it a lot (more) easy to play golf and practice.”
Jaidee earned back his PGA Tour Champions card through qualifying school in December. He had lost his tour rights in the 2020-21 season when the pandemic restricted his travel from Thailand and he missed a large chunk of the schedule.
“I think he’s the first paratrooper to win on tour as well,” Madison’s Jerry Kelly said. “I think he’s awesome. I think he’s a really great guy.
“Not against anybody else, but he deserves it after what he went through and the tour taking his exemption away a little bit. That’s a lot of fortitude that he’s showing coming back from something like that and saying, well, this is the way I have to do it, I have to get my exemption back.”
Much to the delight of local fans, Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker vaulted themselves into contention on the final day with strong play.
Kelly had three birdies on his front nine and was tied for the lead, but he couldn’t pull off his third straight victory in the event.
Kelly carded a 5-under 67 and finished two shots behind Jaidee, but he lamented missing three birdie putts on Nos. 16-18.
“I struck it well,” Kelly said. “I putted well; they just didn’t go in this time. I gave myself some good looks.
“I come into this week every year thinking, yeah, this is going to be my year, I want to knock this one off, and then I always end up here trying to rally at the very end,” Stricker said. “I’ve got to get off to better starts.”
Stricker will get a week to rest before the U.S. Senior Open Championship at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It’s been an eventful year for Stricker with a Ryder Cup victory, a mysterious illness and then a golf comeback that included a major victory in the Regions Tradition in May.
“I’ve got a different perspective on life and all sorts of different things now,” Stricker said. “I still have some battles to kind of get over. I’ve still got to get stronger and continue to work on that part of it.
“I’m just thankful to be able to do this, to be able to continue to play, something that I really love to do. And yeah, so it’s come a long ways and the ups and the downs in these last six months were something else, but I’m glad where I’m at now.”
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