A rare repeat at the Asia-Pacific Amateur

Winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur comes with some incredible perks. Fifa Laopakdee already knows this, as he won the prestigious event last year. On Sunday, he pulled off the rare repeat on the South Course at Te Arai Links in New Zealand, a phenomenal location for a phenomenal accomplishment.

Yes, the Arizona State senior is heading back to Augusta National in 2027 thanks to his victory. He's exempt into the British Open, too, which will return to the Home of Golf, St. Andrews. He's about to have himself a year. 

But making this win much sweeter, as our Evin Priest writes, was the rarified air Laopakdee is now in with his back-to-back triumph. Air that includes a former Masters champion. Thailand might have a superstar in the making. 

A rare repeat at the Asia-Pacific Amateur

Fifa Laopakdee joined elite company with his title defense at Te Arai

By Evin Priest

What You Need to Know

Jill Painter Lopez

Miyu Yamashita defends Maybank title for third victory this year and fifth in last 15 months. Yamashita drained an eight-foot birdie putt on the last hole and shot a final-round 68 to win at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Malaysia. 

“I'm just really happy to have won the title, and I honestly didn't expect to be able to win this tournament two years in a row,” Yamashita said. “I just focused on playing all four days.”

Yamashita, who had just one bogey on Sunday, has taken the LPGA by storm and won for the third time this season, and fifth time in the last 15 months. She won $450,000 from the $3 million purse and now has $6.77 million in career earnings.

Stephen Hennessey

This is certainly one of the worst golf beats we can remember hearing about. Gamblers know never to count a bet as a win until the cash hits your account. Always expect the unexpected. Well, even the most seasoned bettors couldn't have been ready for what was about to happen to Tom Kim on the 18th hole on Friday at Vidanta Vallerta. Our Ryan Herrington broke down the incident, where Kim and Brian Campbell played the wrong ball, so each were assessed a two-stroke penalty. The guy who placed the bet broke it all down in a X post here. 

Jay Coffin

South Africa’s Casandra Alexander is all the way up to No. 27 in the world. She’s going to be higher on Monday when the new rankings come out. The 27-year-old from Johannesburg shot a final-round 64 Sunday to win the Ladies European Tour’s Wistron Ladies Open at Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Taiwan. It’s significant because it’s her third LET victory in her last five starts and she locked up the tour’s Order of Merit title with two events remaining in the season. Alexander won the Women’s Irish Open in late August and followed that with another victory at the Ladies Italian Open in late September.

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