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Thongchai Jaidee
ธงชัย ใจดี
Personal information
Born (1969-11-08) 8 November 1969 (age 55)
Lopburi, Thailand
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 63 kg (139 lb; 9.9 st)
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
Number of wins by tour
European Tour 8
Asian Tour 13 (2nd all-time)
Champions Tour 2
Other 3
Best results in Major Championships
The Masters Tournament T37: 2014
U.S. Open T47: 2010
The Open Championship T13: 2009
PGA Championship T36: 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 November 8, 1969) is a professional golfer from Thailand. He plays on the PGA Tour Champions, which is for golfers aged 50 and over. Before that, he played on the Asian Tour and the European Tour.

Thongchai is famous on the Asian Tour. He has won 13 times, which is the second-highest number of wins ever. He has also earned the most prize money in the history of the Asian Tour. He was the first golfer to win US$2 million, US$3 million, US$4 million, and US$5 million on the Asian Tour. He won the "Order of Merit" (which means he was the top player) three times.

Becoming a Golfer

Thongchai Jaidee started playing golf when he was 16 years old. Later, he joined the Royal Thai Army and became a paratrooper in the special forces.

Thongchai's Golf Career

Thongchai became a professional golfer when he was 30. He quickly became successful on the Asian Tour. He was the top player in 2001 and 2004.

In February 2004, he made history. He became the first Thai golfer to win a tournament on the European Tour. This was at the Carlsberg Malaysian Open. He won the same tournament again in 2005.

In 2006, Thongchai was invited to play in the Masters Tournament. This is one of the biggest golf championships. He was only the second Thai golfer to play in the Masters. By playing in the Masters, he became the first Thai golfer to compete in all four major golf championships.

He continued to do well, winning the Asian Tour's top player award for a third time in 2009. In June 2012, he won his fifth European Tour title at the ISPS Handa Wales Open. This was his first European Tour win outside of Asia.

In 2015, Thongchai was chosen for the 2015 Presidents Cup team. He was the first player from Thailand to get this honor. He played well, earning 1.5 points for his team.

He won his seventh European Tour title in September 2015 at the Porsche European Open in Germany. He won by just one shot. In July 2016, he won his eighth European Tour event, the Open de France. At 46 years old, he became the oldest winner of that tournament since 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. 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 Australia Brad Kennedy
2 20 Feb 2005 Carlsberg Malaysian Open1 (2) −21 (64-66-67-70=267) 3 strokes India Jyoti Randhawa
3 1 Mar 2009 Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open1 −12 (71-69-67-69=276) 2 strokes England Simon Dyson, Sweden Alex Norén,
England Steve Webster
4 26 Apr 2009 Ballantine's Championship1,2 −4 (66-71-77-70=284) Playoff Spain Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, South Korea Kang Sung-hoon
5 3 Jun 2012 ISPS Handa Wales Open −6 (71-68-67-72=278) 1 stroke Denmark Thomas Bjørn, Spain Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño,
Netherlands Joost Luiten, South Africa Richard Sterne
6 1 Jun 2014 Nordea Masters −16 (69-70-68-65=272) Playoff France Victor Dubuisson, Scotland Stephen Gallacher
7 27 Sep 2015 Porsche European Open −17 (68-68-64-67=267) 1 stroke England Graeme Storm
8 3 Jul 2016 Open de France −11 (67-70-68-68=273) 4 strokes Italy 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 Spain Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, South Korea Kang Sung-hoon Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2014 Nordea Masters France Victor Dubuisson, Scotland 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 South Africa Craig Kamps
2 18 Mar 2001 Wills Indian Open −17 (67-69-69-66=271) 1 stroke Scotland Ross Bain
3 10 Feb 2002 London Myanmar Open −11 (69-70-69-69=277) Playoff United States Edward Loar
4 14 Dec 2003 Volvo Masters of Asia −19 (71-64-65-65=265) 1 stroke Taiwan Lin Keng-chi
5 15 Feb 2004 Myanmar Open (2) −12 (69-72-66-69=276) 3 strokes United States Andrew Pitts
6 22 Feb 2004 Carlsberg Malaysian Open2 −14 (71-71-64-68=274) 2 strokes Australia Brad Kennedy
7 20 Feb 2005 Carlsberg Malaysian Open2 (2) −21 (64-66-67-70=267) 3 strokes India Jyoti Randhawa
8 17 Dec 2006 Volvo Masters of Asia (2) −11 (68-68-69-72=277) 1 stroke Philippines Frankie Miñoza
9 7 Dec 2008 Hana Bank Vietnam Masters −15 (67-69-70-67=273) Playoff Wales Rhys Davies, Australia Andrew Dodt
10 14 Dec 2008 Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open −24 (68-66-64-66=264) 6 strokes Singapore Lam Chih Bing
11 1 Mar 2009 Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open2 −12 (71-69-67-69=276) 2 strokes England Simon Dyson, Sweden Alex Norén,
England Steve Webster
12 26 Apr 2009 Ballantine's Championship1,2 −4 (66-71-77-70=280) Playoff Spain Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, South Korea Kang Sung-hoon
13 12 Dec 2010 Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open (2) −21 (70-67-65-65=267) 4 strokes Japan 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 United States Edward Loar Won with par on first extra hole
2 2008 Hana Bank Vietnam Masters Wales Rhys Davies, Australia Andrew Dodt Won with par on third extra hole
Dodt eliminated by birdie on second hole
3 2009 Ballantine's Championship Spain Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, South Korea Kang Sung-hoon Won 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. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 12 Jun 2022 American Family Insurance Championship −14 (69-65-68=202) 1 stroke United States Tom Pernice Jr.
2 24 Sep 2023 PURE Insurance Championship −14 (70-65-67=202) Playoff United States Justin Leonard

PGA Tour Champions Playoff Record (1–0)

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

Major Championship Results

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 of Major Championship Results

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

Results not in chronological order

Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
The Tradition T23 T22 T19
Senior PGA Championship T23 T17 T20 WD CUT
Senior Players Championship T17 T40 T46
U.S. Senior Open T34 T4 CUT T5 T61
The Senior Open Championship WD T3 T20

     Top 10      Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team Appearances

Thongchai Jaidee has represented Asia and Thailand in several team golf events:

  • 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
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