The Thai ten are part of a field of over 70 players who will battle it out over four rounds in three days at Abu Dhabi Golf Club from 8-10 December for three spots on the roster for next season’s LIV Golf League.
A total of 60 players will start on Friday, and only the top 20 from round one will start again with a score reset on day two, where they will be joined by an additional 13 players with exemptions.
From there, a final top 20 will battle it out on Sunday over two rounds, with scores once again reset at the start of the day, for those three golden tickets onto the LIV Golf League.
Nine of the ten Thai players qualified through their high placings on The International Series Order of Merit, the Asian Tour’s set of 10 marquee events, while Nitithorn Thippong, last season’s International Series Singapore champion, also made it through thanks to his victory in the Mandiri Indonesia Open on the Asian Tour in August.
Nine of the ten will start in round one on Friday, with only Gunn Charoenkul receiving an exemption into round two thanks to his seventh-place finish in the OOM standings.
Gunn is putting in the hard yards, both in terms of fitness and short game, as he aims to take advantage of his first-round bye.
The 31-year-old, whose best result was runner-up in the International Series Qatar in February to eventual Order of Merit champion Andy Ogletree, said: “I am looking forward to a great experience. My ball striking has been much better since China, Hong Kong and Indonesia (the final three events of The International Series schedule). If I could refine my short game, I think I will be in a good spot, so that’s what I’m concentrating on.
“I’m also doing a bit more endurance training, because of the 36 holes (on the final day). Other than that, I’m prepping myself by doing more physical training, and since there’s a cut every day, I feel like I need to play more aggressively to go as low as possible. It would mean everything to qualify.”
Sarit Suwannarut goes into the qualifier in good form, having leapt up the standings to 13th thanks to a superb victory in the Volvo China Open at Hidden Grace Golf Club in Shenzhen last month.
Although forced to withdraw from defending his Indonesian Masters title two weeks ago because of illness, Sarit is planning on sticking with his usual aggressive approach in a bid for glory, as he looks to secure a place on the roster alongside some of the world’s best.
He said: “I feel pretty confident, I have had a lot of practice following Indonesia – I didn’t go back home and instead tried to prepare myself there, and I feel confident that I am going to be able to make that top three overall if I can play my game and feel good.
“I will try to think like every other week, my plan is the same; to play the same game and have a good game plan and try to not put too much pressure on myself mentally and enjoy it. I know what I can do and I know what I cannot do, I just need to feel like it is like another week, go out there and preform my best.”
Regarding the format, where only the top 20 will qualify from the first two rounds with a score reset, Sarit added: “I don’t think anything will change. I love to play day by day anyway, so my game plan is always the same – play aggressive. And if the hole looks like I can’t play aggressive I will find a way, that’s still the plan – to play as aggressive as I can.
“Making it to LIV Golf would change everything for me, it is a big league with a lot of top players playing there, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cam Smith for example. I’m ready and I would love to make it onto LIV to play against the top guys in the world.”
Phachara Khongwatmai just missed out on an exemption into the second round on the last day of action on The International Series, dropping one place to ninth in the Order of Merit standings at the death thanks to Gaganjeet Bhullar’s incredible wire-to-wire victory at the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE.
The 24-year-old is still in fine form going into the week however, with three top 25 finishes in the final three events on The International Series including a T3 in the Hong Kong Open, after a thrilling battle with eventual champion Ben Campbell of New Zealand and LIV Golf sensation Cameron Smith.
Phachara, who was in the field for the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational London in 2022 and also lined up in LIV Golf Invitational events held in Thailand and Saudi Arabia last year, said: “I feel pretty good about my game at the moment. I had some decent results in the past few months which boosts my confidence up a bit. I’m trying to rest as much as I can and hopefully be ready for this big week in Abu Dhabi.
“My mentality for all three days will be to go for it, the format will not affect my play too much since only the top 20 will advance.
“It would mean the world to me to be playing in LIV again. My time at LIV was so great. This opportunity is huge for us players. Not only financially but also a chance to prove ourselves playing with top players. I am so excited for this opportunity.”
